


A Spell and A Spark

by dinosaursmate



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Jealous Harry, Jealous Louis, M/M, Sabrina the Teenage Witch AU, Witch Louis Tomlinson, Zayn is a bit anxious at the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-11-13 03:32:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 73,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18023948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinosaursmate/pseuds/dinosaursmate
Summary: “We have something to tell you.”Louis’ eyes slowly looked around the room. He frowned at the absence of anyone else.“We? Who? You and the cat?” Louis scoffed.“Yes.”Louis glanced at Niall, unimpressed. The black cat was looking at him quizzically.“Right. Well, spit it out, Mum.”“There’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it.” She took a deep breath. “You’re a witch.”---Louis is a teenage witch, living and attending university among mortals. He has to keep his secret whilst studying on both his degree and his witch's licence. His friends don't suspect a thing, even as spell after spell goes awry.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

>   
> Here it is - the Sabrina AU!
> 
> A brief thank you to everybody who held my hand and supported me through this process, and a big thank you to [Sus](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/) for betaing!
> 
> Some of these storylines are taken straight from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV show, and some of them I've made up myself. I request a certain amount of creative licence with it because, as much as I tried to make everything make complete sense, there are some holes in the existing canon that I couldn't plug. Just... don't think too much about it. Haha. Also, one or more people in this fic might feel a little out of character, and I'd like to be granted a certain amount of creative licence with that, too. It's just for fun ;)
> 
> Oh, and - this fic is only in two chapters because it was too long for one! So I split it morrrre or less down the middle :)

It was Christmas Eve, or, as it was generally more known in the Tomlinson household, Louis’ birthday. It wasn’t snowing in London, but it was pretty damn cold. His and his mother’s modest semi-detached house had a few twinkly lights around the downstairs window frames, nothing too outrageous, as people seemed to look down upon that kind of thing here in London. They used to go a bit over the top up in Doncaster every year. Louis, along with his mum, Jay, and younger sister, Lottie, would spend the first day of the school holidays decorating the front of the house.

Louis woke with a start. It was deathly silent in his bedroom and he felt as though he had been surrounded by noise. He must have had some kind of strange dream. He sat up, feeling confused and groggy.

Never mind. He was eighteen.

He left his room, stopping by the bathroom before heading downstairs. Niall was laying across the bottom stair, and Louis nearly tripped over him. He rolled his eyes and bent down to pick Niall up.

“You’re a stupid cat, no offence.” Louis chuckled to himself as he threw Niall onto his shoulder. “Either that or you’re evil.”

As soon as he entered the kitchen, his mother jumped to her feet. The movement startled Louis, who clung onto Niall instinctively.

“For God’s sake!”

“Sorry, darling,” Jay said, smiling a little maniacally. “Sit down, I’ll pour you a cup of tea.”

Louis put Niall down before sitting down himself. Niall sat at the edge of the little round table and looked between Louis and Jay several times. Louis frowned.

“Niall’s being weird.”

“He’s a weird cat.”

“I mean… true.”

Jay quickly poured Louis a cup of tea. “Happy birthday, Louis.”

“Thanks, Mum.”

She returned to the table and placed the cup of tea in front of Louis. She sat opposite him and stared. Louis looked up and raised his eyebrows at her.

“Okay, now  _ you’re _ being weird. What’s going on?”

“Right. Um… we have something to tell you.”

Louis’ eyes slowly looked around the room. He frowned at the absence of anyone else.

_ “We? _ Who? You and the cat?” Louis scoffed.

“Yes.”

Louis glanced at Niall, unimpressed. The black cat was looking at him quizzically.

“Right. Well, spit it out, Mum.”

“There’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it.” She took a deep breath. “You’re a witch.”

Louis sighed. He had a bit of a headache, actually, and he could do with taking a painkiller. 

“Um, what?” Louis rolled his eyes and stood to find where they kept the paracetamol. “I can never find anything in this house.”

“Darling, will you please sit down?”

“Mum, my head’s killing.”

“Drawer underneath the toaster.”

“Thanks.” Louis popped two paracetamol into his hand and chucked them into his mouth. He grabbed a mug from the draining board and poured himself a bit of water to wash them down with. “Now, what did you  _ really _ want to tell me?”

_ “Sit down, _ Louis.”

Louis shrugged and sat down. Niall was laying on his side, now, staring at Jay. For a second, Louis thought Niall shook his head, before coming to his senses.

“Now, sweetheart, I know this is a lot to take in, but you are a witch and you have magical powers.”

“How do you know? Did my Hogwarts letter come or something?” Louis laughed rather humourlessly. “Bit late, isn’t it? What house do you think I’ll be sorted into?”

“This is serious!” Jay huffed and clutched her hands together. “You’re a witch. I’m a witch, too. Your grandmother is a witch, even Niall’s a witch.”

“Niall is a cat.” Louis scraped his chair back and stood up. “You know what? I’m going back to bed. Sorry, Mum. Whatever prank you’re playing, I’m just not in the mood. Maybe I’ll play along later.”

He heard his mum sigh as he thumped up the old, creaky stairs. This house was pretty creepy. It looked tiny from the outside, but was fairly spacious inside. They had only been here a month. Louis was starting university in January and his mum just so happened to get relocated to London. It was perfect. She had decided that Louis’ four younger sisters were better off staying put, and so they went to live with their dad whilst Louis and Jay moved to London.

Louis was sort of sad he would miss out on living in halls and all that, but if he was honest, he was a mummy’s boy and it was worth it to stay with his mum.

Louis reached his bedroom, moving to close the door but pausing to let Niall scurry in. Louis threw himself down on his bed and felt the bed dip as Niall jumped up to join him.

“I mean, is she trying to be fun now that we’re alone? Now that I’m eighteen and she doesn’t have to be an active parent anymore?” Louis groaned into his pillow. “It’s not working.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so distrusting of your own mother.”

“I know, but-” Louis suddenly flipped over, rolling too far and falling off the bed. He grabbed at his duvet, which piled on top of him. When he pulled it off, he looked up at Niall, who was peeking over the edge of the bed. “For a second, I thought you fucking spoke.”

“I did, ya idiot.”

Louis was losing his mind. The cat just talked. Not only that, it was in a bright, Irish accent. Failing to find a way to adequately deal with such a confusing situation, Louis pulled his duvet over his head and hid.

Niall jumped down and started to scratch at the duvet. Great, so now the talking cat was trying to kill him. Louis whimpered and threw the duvet off, trapping Niall and he ran downstairs to where his mum was still sitting at the kitchen table.

“The cat!” Louis shouted, panicked. “He talked! He fucking talked and then tried to attack me. He’s trying to kill me, Mum, help! Am I having a breakdown? A crisis?!”

“Oh, for God’s sake.” Jay frowned sternly. “Sit down.”

Louis pouted and did as he was told. His eyes widened in fear when he saw Niall trot down the stairs.

“Louis, look.” Jay took a breath to calm herself. “You’ll have to accept it sooner or later. And you need to learn how to harness your powers, otherwise you’ll be in trouble.”

Louis winced as Niall jumped on the table.

“Lou, I wasn’t trying to kill you.” The cat scoffed as best a cat could. “I was trying to get to you to talk some sense into you. I see now that I went about it badly, and I’m big enough to apologise for my mistakes.”

Jay rolled her eyes, but Louis continued to stare at the cat in disbelief. Louis could see, now, that - although Niall was most definitely completely a cat - he held his face like a human. His eyes blinked like a human, his mouth curved like a human, even his posture was human. If any of that even made sense.

“Lou, I’ll prove it to you, alright?” Jay looked around the room. “You want a biscuit?”

“Um…”

Jay pointed her finger at the biscuit tin on the counter. Louis turned to look at it, laying eyes on it just as it lifted up and floated across the room towards them. 

“Holy fucking shit.”

“Language!”

“You just levitated a biscuit tin and you’re telling me off for swearing?” Louis shook his head. “This can’t be real.”

“For the last bloody time, it is. Let’s get you to try something. You’ll really believe it, then.”

Louis sighed. This was mad. “Fine. How?”

“You should start with incantations. You just need a little rhyme, a spell.”

“Cool. So, do I need to say abracadabra, or not?” Louis grinned. “As long as I don’t say avada kedav- wait, that’s not going to work is it?”

“You’re not Harry Potter, darling,” Jay said impatiently. “Just say something. Start small, please?”

“Okay.” Louis rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. “Um…?  _ Niall, Niall, at the table you love to beg, prove my magic by growing an extra leg.” _

“That’s the first thing that came into your head?” Niall complained, mewling in distress as, before Louis’ eyes, he sprouted a weird bump between his two front legs, which quickly erupted to grow into a paw, then a wrist, and eventually, a full, fifth leg. 

“Oh my God.”

“Do you believe me now?” his mother asked.

Louis turned to look at her.  _ “Mum, of your hair you are so fond. But I’d really like to see you blonde.” _

He pointed at her and stared in amazement as his mum’s dark hair lightened. She didn’t look impressed.

“Yes. Well.” She cleared her throat and pointed at her head. Her blonde locks darkened once again. “Since you’re so new to it, your spells are very easy to reverse.”

“Aw, man. This is  _ sick.” _

“Now, be careful, darling. A lot of spells can have consequences, sometimes dire. And don’t point your finger at people. Not only is it rude, it’s dangerous.”

“Hello?” Niall said. “Jay, please!”

“Oh. Sorry.” She pointed at him and his fifth leg disappeared. 

“So, do all animals talk?” Louis asked.

“Only those that are people,” Jay said, and looked pointedly at Niall. “Care to expand?”

Niall sighed loudly and rolled his strange little cat eyes. 

“Fine. It’s true, I was human. Oh, I was an ambitious young lad. Too ambitious, some might say.”

Jay laughed, and Niall swatted at her with his tail.

“Anyway. I got a little carried away, and… Well, let’s just say the Witches Council don’t take lightly to plots to take over the world.”

“You plotted to take over the world?” Louis laughed in surprise. “How cliche.”

“I was doing well before they raided my headquarters! My punishment was a hundred years behind whiskers.”

“Wait. One hundred years? Cats only live for, like, twenty at most. And humans…”

“Mortals barely make it to a hundred, but we’re witches.” Jay looked at Niall and smirked. “I’ll turn three hundred in a few decades. Dreading it.”

“You  _ what? _ You’re  _ three hundred?” _

“Not yet!” Jay squawked indignantly.

Louis frowned. “Am I really eighteen?”

“Of course you are.”

Louis rolled his eyes. How could his mum confirm any kind of fact with  _ of course? _ Nothing Louis ever knew to be true still remained as such. He had magical powers. His mother did. His cat was an imprisoned Irish man. 

“Mum, what about the girls? Are they witches, too?”

“Yes. But they will find that out once they’re eighteen, too. There are a lot of laws and restrictions for witches living in the mortal realm, which includes kids not being allowed to use their powers before they turn eighteen.”

“The what?” Louis shook his head. “This really is a lot to take in.”

“Yes, well.” Jay stood up and put her mug in the sink. “You have a  _ lot _ to learn. You’ll have a tough load, love, what with uni and learning your magic, but I’ll help you every step of the way.”

“I can learn it as I go along, it shouldn’t be so bad.”

“Darling, I hate to burden you, but you will have an exam in a year for your witch's licence.”

“What?”

“So, you’ll need to actively study.” She pointed at him. “I mean it. I won’t have a child of mine failing.”

“No pressure, then.” Louis looked at his mother’s finger before cocking an eyebrow. “And I thought we weren’t allowed to point? It’s  _ dangerous.” _

Jay prodded him. “Not when you’re such an experienced witch like me.”

-

Christmas was a quiet affair, mostly filled with Jay teaching Louis some basic spells and Niall zooming around the house, high on his Christmas catnip. 

“So, tell me about the realms.”

Jay cleared her throat. “Yes, well. We live here, in the mortal realm, but there is another realm. A supernatural realm. That’s where we’re from. I mean…  _ really  _ from.”

“So, how come we live here?”

Jay placed her hands on the table, clasped together. She took a deep breath and shrugged.

“Honey, your father is mortal. I worked for mortal-witch relations in the late eighties and I spent a lot of time in the mortal realm. I moved here to be with him. I couldn’t exactly take him back to the other realm.” She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “Mortal/witch marriages aren’t very well received.”

“And you didn’t think about moving back when you… you know. When things went downhill between you?”

“You were a few years old by then, and I had a job. I thought about moving back a lot over the years, but the timing just wasn’t right.”

“And what about Mark? Is he…”

“Mortal,” Jay said with a nod. “Your sisters are all half-mortal too.”

“Wow.” Louis sighed. “So, tell me about the other realm.”

“Not much to tell. It’s another dimension, and it’s the home for witches and the rest of the magical community.”

“And? What’s it like?”

Jay shrugged. “I suppose you’d find it fairly strange, since you’re not used to it all.”

“Can we go?” Louis asked brightly.

“Pace yourself, darling. We will, soon.”

“Okay.” Louis raised his eyebrows. “How do we get there?”

Jay narrowed her eyes. “Promise you won’t go wandering off on your own?”

“Promise.”

“The portal is in our basement. You know that weird door that never opens?”

“Yeah.”

Jay smiled at him pointedly, and Louis let out an astonished laugh. Everything he had learned since his eighteenth birthday had blown his mind, but a portal to another realm in his own basement? Too weird. He could have wandered through that door by mistake! Except, as much as he had always tried to open it, he had never managed it.

“So, did it not open because I didn’t know I was a witch yet?”

Jay shook her head. “No! I locked it.”

“With a spell?”

“With a key.”

“Oh.” Louis let out a laugh. “Fair enough. So, tell me more. Is it, like, here, but in just an alternate reality? Or what?”

“Don’t be silly. No, it’s millions of light years away, but every witch household has a portal so they can reach it in seconds. It’s just a case of simple molecular transference.”

Louis scoffed. “Simple.”

“It is simple. And you’ll learn how to do it.”

“Like… move myself from one place to another?”

“Yup.” Jay stood up and headed to the counter to pour herself another cup of tea. 

“Mum, why don’t you use your magic to get yourself a drink?”

“The same reason I don’t use magic to do every single thing for me, and the same reason you won’t, either.”

Louis scoffed. “Why?”

“Because it’s lazy,” Jay said, looking at him sternly. “It’s not there so you can conjure yourself a pizza when you can’t be arsed to cook one.”

Louis tried to look like he understood, but the thought of being able to conjure himself a pizza was distracting and tantalising. He felt as though the world was at his feet, and he couldn’t wait to start learning.  _ Properly  _ learning.

-

“Don’t do magic in front of mortals,” Jay had hammered into Louis for the hundredth time as he left the house. 

He had to catch a bus to university, although why he couldn’t just zap himself there in an instant was something he couldn’t understand.

“Because you don’t know how,” Jay had said. “You don’t want to do magic like that sloppily. You’ll end up with your arms in Alaska and your legs in Egypt.”

“Would I get splinched? Like in Harry Potter?”

“Stop comparing everything to Harry Potter!” Jay rolled her eyes. “Harry Potter isn’t real.”

“I have a hard time believing all this is,” Louis replied.

When Louis got off the bus, he felt rather nervous. Since he found out that he was a witch, he sort of thought he would feel at an advantage, as if silly things like nerves were a thing of the past for him. He had magical powers. Real magical powers. Why would he fear university?

But here he was. He was starting later than most students, but earlier than most people his age. He had done his entire A Levels in one year instead of two, and so was a year ahead of his peers. He wondered if his mother and her powers had anything to do with that. He missed out on normal uni things, such as fresher’s week, which added to his uneasy feeling. Fresher’s week was when most students made friends and settled in. Louis would just have to make do.

There were a few other students starting too, to Louis’ relief. They spent the entire day completing registration, being inducted, being shown around… it was exhausting, and a lot to take in. When they broke for lunch, Louis found himself next to another new guy, called Zayn. 

“This whole thing is just so nerve-wracking,” Zayn said to him quietly. “How does anybody cope with this?”

“God knows.” Louis shrugged. “I think some people know people who already go here.”

“Do you?” Zayn asked.

“Nope.”

“Me neither.” Zayn smiled tentatively. “Wanna be friends?”

“Umm,” Louis said with a laugh. “Yeah, sure.”

Zayn let out an audible sigh of relief. “Thanks. Like, if we get to know each other and you decide you don’t like me, it’s cool, but for now it’s just nice to have a friendly face to stick with, and… well, you know.”

“I do.” Louis grinned. “Don’t worry, lad.”

So, Louis had made a friend. They did indeed stick together and, at the end of the day, Zayn nervously asked Louis if he wanted to go for coffee.

“Yeah, sure. You can tell me all about your art.”

Once Louis got Zayn talking about his art, it had been like opening a floodgate. He spoke passionately for half an hour about different types of paints and various career paths he was hoping to explore once he graduated. Louis started to wonder if he should have been thinking that far ahead by now. He always knew he wanted to study drama, but there was so much out there for him, so many avenues. He had no idea what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

Zayn and Louis stuck together a lot in the first week. Jay questioned Louis every evening about his day, and he was exhausted. 

“I hope you haven’t been doing magic.”

“No,” Louis repeated for the third time that week. “I’m not confident enough to do it without your supervision.”

“Well, don’t gesture too much. Especially if you’re worked up. You haven’t learned to control your magic just yet.”

“Yep, okay.” Louis sighed and stood from the kitchen table. “Look, I’ve got my first classes tomorrow, and I have some reading up I need to do. I’m gonna chill in my room for a bit.”

Louis pulled himself up the stairs. When he opened his bedroom door, Niall was sitting on the bed, licking his own bum.

“Niall!” Louis scoffed. “Do you have to do that?”

“I’m a cat!”

“No, you’re not.” Louis frowned. “Well, yeah. You are. But you’re also a person.”

“Well, I-”

“Leave me alone, I’m confused and tired.” Louis face planted onto his pillow, jostling Niall slightly. “My mum keeps badgering me about my magic.”

“Learning your magic is important too, Louis. Let’s have a lesson!”

“Like I’m gonna put my education in the hands of the guy who tried to take over the world.” Louis pointed at him. “And failed.”

“First lesson: don’t point! It’s unsafe.”

“Everyone keeps saying that!”

“It’s true.”

“Now, do I have to point to do magic?” Louis pouted, looking at his finger. “Mum doesn’t always point.”

“I think of it as more of an individual’s mannerism. I personally liked to give it more of a flourish.”

“Of course you did.”

“My brother liked to click. It’s up to you to find what feels right.”

“Eh, I guess I’ll point, since that’s what I’ve been doing so far.” Louis pointed at Niall. “I wanna do something. Can I do something?”

“Do what you want!” Niall scoffed. “I’m not your parent.”

“True.” Louis thought for a second before pointing at his desk. With a dainty sparkle, a huge, five-layer chocolate cake appeared next to his laptop. “Cool!”

“Bear in mind, you’ll have a hard time finding spells to get rid of any unwanted weight gain. And also… magic-induced vomiting is no fun.”

“Urgh.” Louis sighed and pointed again at the cake, making it disappear. “You ruin everything.”

“I do not!” Niall said, wagging his tail in irritation. “Conversely, I’ll always be willing to teach you fun stuff your mum never will.”

Louis grinned broadly. “Like what?”

“Ooh, no. Not yet. You’re too new to it.”

“Fine. Why don’t you go chase some shadows or something? I need to study.”

-

“Louis, just concentrate.”

“I’m trying!” Louis huffed. “Okay.”

Louis closed his eyes and focused. Fridge.  _ Fridge. _ He could totally do this. It couldn’t be that hard to transport himself over to the fridge. Suddenly, he felt his body…  _ whoosh. _

“I did it!” he said, opening his eyes. He did something, anyway. But he wasn’t standing next to the fridge. He was somewhere pitch black, somewhere that kind of smelt vaguely like vegetables. And it was cold… “Help!”

Louis began to panic. He tried to put himself back at the table, but he was too worked up to focus. He was  _ in _ the bloody fridge. He had heard all those horror stories about little kids getting trapped in fridges and suffocating, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. To his relief, the fridge flooded with light as Jay opened the door.

“That’s an impressive mistake to make.”

Now that the fridge light had come on, Louis could see his surroundings, and it was then that he realised he was only a little bit taller than the tub of butter next to him. He started to scream, and Jay slammed the door shut.

“Hey!  _ Mum!” _

“Sorry,” Jay said, flustered as she yanked the door open. “I panicked.”

“Mum, I’m  _ tiny!” _

“Okay, I can see that, darling.” Jay sighed as her giant hand moved towards Louis. She scooped him up and put him on the table. “It’s alright, I can reverse your spell.”

She pointed at him, and suddenly he felt his body swell up and he found himself sitting on top of the table.

“I’m never gonna get the hang of this.”

“You will. You transferred yourself, didn’t you?”

Louis scoffed and folded his arms. “Not well.”

“Look, just concentrate. Picture yourself on the sofa in the living room.”

“Okay,” Louis said with a sigh as he closed his eyes. “Focus.”

He felt himself transfer somewhere, and he opened his eyes to discover himself sitting on the sofa.

“Mum!” he called. “Mum, I did it!”

Jay walked into the living room, smiling broadly.

“Told ya. Now, don’t get lazy and use it all the time. I expect you to still get the bus to uni and walk up the stairs, that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m serious. Don’t become reliant on spells and magic.”

“What’s the point if it’s not gonna make my life any easier?”

Jay frowned, unimpressed. “The supernatural is a wonderful thing. You have a lot to learn.”

“Yeah, okay. I have to get to a lecture.”

“Alright. Practice controlling your magic, please.”

Louis waved her goodbye and headed out to the bus stop. It was bloody freezing. Louis reckoned it could snow today, and he bitterly resented not being allowed to zap himself to uni. To be honest, he knew he shouldn’t risk it. He had completed exactly one successful transference spell. God only knew where he would end up if he tried to get himself to uni.

The bus came, and it wasn’t much warmer. Louis managed to zap some hand warmers into his pockets and stave off pneumonia. Luckily, his lecture hall was warm enough, and he got through two hours of Cultural Histories of Theatre before having to go back out in the cold to find some food.

He bumped into Zayn, sitting outside of the cafe, smoking.

“Hiya,” Zayn murmured. “It’s fucking freezing.”

“Yeah. You had lunch?”

“No.” Zayn quickly stubbed his cigarette out on the low brick wall he was sitting on. “Let’s eat.”

They ordered themselves some toasties and found a table towards the back, in a corner. Zayn picked it. Not only was it furthest away from the door, but it was isolated from the main chaos of the cafe. 

“How’s it all going?” Louis asked.

“Ah, yeah. It’s good, actually. Oh, I made another friend in the library!”

“Good job!” Louis smiled. 

“He’s a music student. He needed to borrow a pen. Maybe the three of us should hang out sometime. I hope the two of you get on.”

“I’d love to,” Louis reassured him. “Maybe we can all go to the cinema on Friday night, or something.”

“Great,” Zayn said with a relieved smile. “Good. Oh hey, here’s our food.”

A man walked over, carrying two plates. He rolled his eyes as he came to a stop next to their table.

“Cheese and ham?” He placed the plate in front of Louis as he nodded. “Cheese and tomato.”

“Hey, aren’t you on my course?” Louis asked as the man placed Zayn’s toastie on the table. “Yeah, I’m sure I just saw you in my lecture.”

“And?”

“Um, nothing.” Louis widened his eyes at Zayn. “Just making conversation.”

“Well, don’t?” The man rolled his eyes again and walked off.

“God,” Zayn scoffed. “The only thing colder than the weather is him. What’s his problem?”

“I dunno,” Louis said in surprise. “I’ve never spoken to him before.”

“How can someone so sweet looking be such a dickhead?” Zayn shook his head. “What’s his name?”

“Not sure. I’d read his name tag but he might kill me if he catches me looking at him.” Louis smirked at Zayn. “Oh, wait. I think his name’s, like, Lee or something.”

“If he was in your lecture, he must have run to work afterwards.”

“Now that I think of it, I think he left a few minutes early.” Louis rolled his eyes. “Anyway, enough about him. What film are we gonna see?”

-

The main thing Louis had learnt about his magic was how to change outfits. 

He stood in front of his full-length mirror and lazily pointed at himself over and over, trying to decide what to wear for his cinema trip with Zayn and his new friend. Half of the outfits, however, that he was zapping on came from his washing basket.

“Niall, how can I rotate between outfits that are clean, and clean only?” Louis sighed. “This is a waste of time.”

“I wouldn’t bloody know, I did much better things with my magic than just changing my clothes.” Niall rolled his big cat eyes. “Also, maybe you should try doing a bit of laundry every now and then.”

“Can’t I use my magic to do that?”

“Your mum knows how.” Niall laughed. “She won’t tell you, though!”

“Why?”

“She wants you to be responsible and still do  _ some _ things the mortal way.”

Louis sighed loudly. “Yeah, yeah. She’s already given me enough speeches about all that.”

“Then do some bloody washing!” Niall said. “But let me know when you do? I could do with a lovely pile of freshly tumble-dried clothes to sleep on.”

“Fat bloody chance!” Louis scoffed. “Cat hair is the main problem with the majority of my clothes.”

“Excuse me for my lack of sympathy, but some of us  _ have _ to wear this fur.”

“Well, excuse  _ me _ for  _ my _ lack of sympathy, but you deserve it.” Louis pointed at himself and dressed in his best skinny jeans and a graphic tee. “Right, this’ll do. I suppose I’ll go and find a lint roller.”

He headed down into the kitchen where Jay was making herself some dinner.

“Ooh, you look nice!” she cooed. “Going on a date?”

“Um, no.” Louis scoffed. “I told you. I’m just going out with Zayn and his friend.”

“Hm, okay. You want something to eat before you go?”

“Maybe a small bite. What ya making?”

“Thai green curry. I’ll warn you, it’s spicy.”

“I like spice, you know that,” Louis said as Jay zapped a small portion of curry and rice for him. “I’m sure I can handle it.”

Louis put a forkful of food into his mouth and immediately he felt like his mouth was on fire. He opened it and big, orange flames shot out. Jay shrieked, pointing at Louis, who was suddenly drenched as a load of water dropped on him from above.

_ “Mum!” _ he screamed. “Is that really the only way you could’ve helped? I’m going out in a minute!”

“I’m sorry!” Jay squeaked. “I panicked.”

“You do that a lot,” Louis said, feeling downtrodden. “Can you fix this?”

Jay frowned and pointed at him. His clothes and hair dried instantly, and he looked down, smoothing his t-shirt.

“Hey, you got rid of the cat hair!”

Jay sighed. “Despite what you might think, I  _ am _ a good witch.”

“Aw, Mum. I know.” Louis popped a mint into his mouth and kissed his mother on the cheek. “I won’t be home too late.”

-

Louis arrived early and scrolled Facebook until Zayn arrived. 

“Where’s your friend?”

“Should be here in a minute,” Zayn said as he lit a cigarette. “He doesn’t live far from here.”

“I think I’m gonna get a hot dog,” Louis mused. “Maybe popcorn, too, if I’m feeling greedy.”

“Can we share? The big one is such better value but I can’t get through it on my own.”

“But are you a salt or sweet man?”

“Mixed, mate, obviously.” He nodded to the street behind Louis. “Oh, Harry’s here.”

Louis turned around. A guy with curly hair down to his ears was huddled up in a big coat, keeping his head down as he walked quickly towards them. Louis’ mouth cocked into a smile.

“Let’s go in,” Harry said. “It’s fucking freezing.”

They headed into the lobby of the cinema and Harry relaxed his shoulders, unzipping his coat before turning to Louis and holding his hand out.

“Hi, I’m Harry.”

“So I hear. I’m Louis.”

“Nice to meet you. Zayn says you were the only person who talked to him on your first day.”

“Um, probably not the only person.” Louis looked at Zayn. “He did practically beg me to be his friend.”

“I was desperate,” Zayn said with a roll of his eyes. “Can we just get our tickets and go inside?”

When they were loaded up with tickets and snacks, they took their seats at the back of the auditorium, Zayn sitting in between Louis and Harry. Harry had insisted on a scary film, much to Zayn’s disgust, but he agreed anyway. He jumped and started and whimpered throughout the whole film, Harry laughing hysterically. When the film finished, Zayn was glum as they made their way to a little local bar for drinks.

“Aw, come on!” Harry said with a huge grin. “It wasn’t that scary.”

“I hate being scared.”

Louis couldn’t help but grin. He could tell Harry hadn’t been malicious. In fact, he was being rather endearing and Louis had to make an effort to stop staring at him.

“It’s alright, Zayn,” Louis said, fixing his eyes to the ground. “A couple of drinks and you’ll forget about your traumatic experience.”

Harry started giggling again. “Traumatic!”

Zayn frowned, unimpressed, as they walked into the bar. As always, Zayn managed to find a small table towards the back and went to claim it while Louis went to the bar to get a round in. Harry went off to the toilets and came over to the bar when he returned.

“I thought you might like a hand carrying the drinks.”

“Aw, thanks.” Louis smiled politely. “So, um… you’re a music student? First year?”

“Yeah.” Harry nodded. “It’s more work than I thought it would be. I just wanna sing.”

“Ah, you sing?” Louis asked with a grin. “I’d love to hear you.”

“I’d break out in song now, but I don’t wanna get mobbed by fans.”

“Oh, ha ha.” Louis smirked. “Maybe another time.”

“Are you on the art course with Zayn?”

“Art? Me?” Louis shook his head. “Absolutely not. Nah, drama.”

“Ah. Should’ve guessed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Louis responded with a surprised laugh, shoving gently on Harry’s shoulder. “I’m not sure what you’re implying.”

“You’ve just got that… dramatic air about you.”

Louis laughed quietly. “Oh, shut up.”

He paid for their drinks and, as they walked back to the table, he realised how content and at ease he felt. He liked Harry, and hoped that Zayn would invite him out more often. 

“So, Louis,” Harry said. “Do you live in dorms? Student house?”

“Uh… no.” He cleared his throat. “I live at home. With my mum.”

“Fair enough,” Harry said with a nod. “Wish I could’ve stayed at home with my mum.”

“Don’t say that on campus,” Zayn said with a smirk. “You don’t wanna be known as the Mummy’s boy.”

“I’m a mummy’s boy, I’m not ashamed to admit it!” Harry cackled. “But you’re probably right.”

“Hey, I am, too,” Louis piped up.

There was a beat of silence before Zayn added, “Me too.”

-

After a few drinks, they all headed off in their different directions and Louis arrived home just after midnight. He walked in the front door and jumped when he saw Niall sitting on the stairs, waiting for him.

“What time do you call this?”

“And?” Louis scoffed, bypassing him and walking up the stairs. “Back off, cat. I’m eighteen.”

“Don’t you think of your poor mother? She’s been up, worried sick!”

Louis paused on the landing before cocking an eyebrow at Niall.

“I can hear her snoring.”

“Um, I reassured her?”

Louis rolled his eyes and headed into his room. “Have you really been waiting on the stairs this whole time just so you can mess with me?”

“I wanna know everything!” Niall whined. “Where did you go? What did you see? What did you talk about?”

“First of all, it’s none of your business. Second of all… why?”

“I miss going out with friends on a Friday night! Not that sitting on the kitchen table and licking my own arse isn’t fun.”

“Ew, fucking hell, Niall.” Louis frowned at him. “It’s weird to think you were a real person with a real life.”

Niall sighed. “Yeah. All on hold for a hundred years.”

“Aw, sorry, mate.” Louis scratched behind Niall’s ear. “I’m your friend though, right?”

“Right.” Niall nodded. “And can I say, I’m very grateful that, since you found out I’m a person, you don’t take your clothes off while I’m in the room.”

“Oh my God!” Louis whined, slapping his palms to his cheeks. “I never even thought! I’m mortified.”

“Don’t worry. I close my eyes.”

“I’m really starting to feel like you should sleep downstairs on your own.” Louis broke a grin. “Night, Niall.”

-

Louis was trying his best to listen in his lecture, but he was bored. He pointed at his pen over and over, changing the ink colour from blue to red to pink to purple to black. If only he was so good at useful magic.

When he came out, Zayn was waiting outside.

“Party tonight?”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “On a Monday?”

Zayn gave him a deadpan look. “It’s university, mate.”

“Right. Um…”

“Or do you need to ask your mum?”

“Shut up,” Louis said with a grin. “I’ll be there. Text me the address.”

“Sick. It’s one street away from my dorm. Harry’s coming.”

“Cool. Well, I have to get to a workshop. Free for a coffee in a couple of hours?”

They arranged to meet in the cafe and Louis was on his way. The workshop was an awkward mess, but he got through it with minimal trauma and headed off to meet Zayn. Just as he arrived, it started to snow.

“It was supposed to warm up a bit today!” Zayn said. “So weird.”

“Well, that’s England for you,” Louis said, vaguely wondering if the weather had been  _ magically _ altered. “I need coffee.”

It was fairly quiet in the cafe. Most of the customers were studying, and it made Louis feel like he should be studying instead of socialising. He approached the counter while Zayn went to bag their usual table.

“What do you want?” 

The guy from Louis’ course was serving behind the counter, and Louis could now see from his name badge that his name was Liam. 

“Um, hi. Ironically, I’d like a coffee.”

“That’s funny,” Liam deadpanned. “We have seven different types of coffee. Read a menu?”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Two lattes. One with soy milk.”

“Fine,” Liam said with a sigh. “I’ll bring them over.”

Louis tapped his debit card to the reader and headed back over to Zayn.

“That Liam guy’s here again. God, he’s an arsehole.”

“Some people are just hateful, I guess,” Zayn said as he watched Liam walk over with their coffees.

“Two lattes.” Liam placed the coffees on the table.

“Which one’s soy milk?”

Liam glared at Louis. “Why don’t you just drink one and see if you get the shits?”

Louis looked at Zayn, who looked equal parts terrified and furious. Louis stood up and folded his arms.

“I’m starting to think I need to have a word with your manager.”

“My manager is my uncle,” Liam said with a faux-sweet smile. “The soy one is  _ obviously _ the one with the spoon in.”

“Oh,  _ obviously.”  _ Louis rolled his eyes as he sat back down. 

“Thanks,” Zayn whispered, taking the cup with the spoon in as Liam retreated. “I wish I had the confidence to stand up to people like that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Karma will get him.”

Louis discreetly pointed his finger at Liam and a trail of toilet paper appeared, attached to Liam’s shoe.

“If someone doesn’t punch him first.”

-

Louis picked Zayn up from his room and they headed over to the party together. 

“Thanks for coming,” Zayn said. “I wouldn’t have gone on my own.”

“I thought Harry’s going?”

“He is.” Zayn looked at Louis. “But I don’t think he quite knows how weird I am about this stuff yet. I don’t wanna expose him to it.”

“Well, it’s great you’re going anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of forcing myself to. Gotta live the uni lifestyle.”

“Mm.” Louis grinned as they walked up to the house. “I suppose I should make an effort, too.”

“Well, this is Harry’s fourth party this term. He said he goes to, like, three a week.”

“I don’t have the energy or inclination for that,” Louis replied. “Please don’t make me go to three parties a week.”

“I won’t.”

They walked in and immediately Louis spotted Liam sitting on the windowsill, surrounded by people vying for his attention. Louis rolled his eyes and tried to navigate towards the kitchen.

“Harry!” Zayn cheered as they entered the kitchen, which was full of coolers of beer and alcopops. “You’re here.”

“I am!”

Harry seemed tipsy and cheerful. It put a smile on Louis’ face, especially the way Zayn relaxed now that he had another friend in the room. 

“Now. People are dancing in the living room, playing some weird dodgeball-type game in the garden, and bobbing for apples upstairs in the bath.”

“Bobbing for apples?”

“Yeah!” Harry said with a happy laugh. “I’m going outside.”

“I’ll come,” Zayn said quickly.

“Yeah, me too.”

They headed outside, where a couple of dozen students were clearly too drunk to feel the cold. Most of them were in dresses or t-shirts, and a couple of the guys were even topless. They were throwing footballs and tennis balls at each other, running around and giggling. Louis widened his eyes.

“Um, well. This is chaos.”

“I think this lot started drinking while the rest of us were in class,” Harry said with a shrug. “Better catch up!”

Louis glanced at Zayn, who looked a little out of his depth. 

“He’s right. We need to drink.”

-

An hour later, Louis watched, stunned, as an inebriated Zayn joined in the festivities. He was playing some weird game with a tennis ball and stacked plastic cups with a group of girls, and Louis headed back inside. He found Harry in the living room, standing in a small huddle of people around Liam.

“Hi,” Louis said as he approached Harry.

“Hey. Where’s Zayn?”

“Outside, playing with strangers.”

“Wow.”

“I know,” Louis said with a shrug. “What are you doing here? That Liam guy is an arsehole.”

“Oh, come on. He’s not that bad.”

Louis scoffed and gulped a mouthful of his beer. “So, would you say this is a typical uni party?”

“It’s a bit tame compared to a few of the other ones I’ve been to.” Harry leaned in close to Louis. “No drugs here.”

“Probably not true,” Louis said, looking around.

“Mm, well. The key to these parties is not to overstay your welcome. My housemate swears by staying at parties until the bitter end, and that’s how he’s ended up with a police caution more than once.”

“You’re really selling this uni to me.”

Harry laughed. “Ah, it’s fine. So, what did Liam do to you?”

“Oh, me and Zayn have had a couple of run-ins with him in the cafe. He’s just very, very rude.”

“Really? I’ve had no problem with him.”

Louis nudged Harry as Liam walked towards them.

“Hi, Harry,” Liam said, smiling sweetly before turning to look at Louis. “And you are…?”

“Um, I’m Louis? I’m on your course. I’ve met you twice in the cafe.”

“Okay.” Liam turned back to Harry. “Harry, you promised me a dance last week. You said the next party.”

“So I did.” Harry turned to Louis. “Will you hold my beer? Won’t be long.”

A strange sort of irritation washed over Louis as he watched Harry follow Liam into the crowd of dancing bodies. In a barely conscious move, he pointed his finger at Liam, who spontaneously sneezed, right in Harry’s face.

He could see Liam mouthing  _ sorry,  _ and Louis felt rather pleased with himself before Liam pulled his sleeve over his fingers and made a show of wiping Harry’s face. Harry’s face was screwed up and Liam led him out of the crowd and into the kitchen. Louis followed at a slight distance and watched as Liam soaked a paper towel under the tap and continued to wipe Harry’s face.

“Ugh,” Louis scoffed under his breath and walked out of the kitchen, into the garden. He found Zayn, laying on the grass with a blonde girl, giggling stupidly.

“Lou!” he cheered. “Come sit.”

“Are you joking? Isn’t the grass wet?”

“Dewy,” Zayn said waving a hand dismissively. “So, what have you been up to?”

“Well, Harry abandoned me to dance with the Devil, and I’m seriously thinking about drinking his beer.”

“Who’s he dancing with?”

“Liam.” Louis rolled his eyes and took a swig from Harry’s beer, even though his own wasn’t empty. “Where did you find Harry, anyway? He seems to think Liam’s alright.”

“Maybe he’s blinded by Liam’s attractiveness.”

“You really think Harry’s that shallow?”

“Did I hear my name?”

Louis spun around to see Harry behind him. Harry reached out and took a cup from Louis - the wrong one, but Louis said nothing - and took a mouthful of beer.

“Um… I was just saying that I might go home, and that I should come and find you.”

“Aw. Well. I might go, too.” Harry looked down at Zayn. “You coming?”

“I think I’ll stay here.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Really? On your own?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Louis hesitated before shrugging. “Please, just text me when you get home.”

“Will do!”

He and Harry got their coats and made their way into the night. Louis conjured hand-warmers into his pockets and snuggled down.

“Well, what I learned tonight is that Zayn is probably going to spend the majority of his degree drunk, if it’s the only way he can cope with social situations.”

“Bless him,” Harry said with a sigh. “He’s such a sweetheart.”

“So, you don’t have the  _ worst _ judgment in people, then.”

Harry smiled. “Liam’s sweet too, you know.”

“He definitely fancies you. Of course he’s gonna be sweet to you.”

“He does not!”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Of course he does. He batted his eyelashes at you and made you dance with him.”

Harry shook his head, grinning. “You’re crazy.”

“Anyway, enough about bloody Liam.” Louis smiled. “So, you sing? Have you always liked to sing?”

“Okay,  _ don’t  _ tell anyone.” Harry raised his eyebrows. “I’m serious, you can’t say anything.”

“About what?” Louis asked with a giggle.

Harry sighed. “When I was sixteen, I auditioned for X Factor.”

“Shut up! Did you?”

“Yup,” Harry said with another sigh. “I got to the judge’s audition, and they put me through, but I got cut at boot camp.”

“That’s wild!”

“It was a weird time. It’s on YouTube, since I know you’ll wanna see it.”

“Oh, I will watch that as soon as I get in.” Louis turned to look at Harry. “It’s nice that you trust me enough to tell me.”

“I’m drunk!” Harry said with a cackle. “I’m gonna regret this in the morning.”

“Well, I won’t tell anyone. Not even Zayn.”

“Thank you. Um, I’m going this way.”

“Oh.” Louis nodded. “Right, I’m just behind the high road, so I’m going down here. Thanks for walking with me.”

“You’re welcome. Can’t wait to get home and get warm.”

“Same!” Louis laughed. “See ya. Hope you don’t have too much of a hangover in the morning.”

“It’s a good excuse to have a fry up.” Harry grinned, walking backwards, before waving to Louis and making his way home.

Louis finished his journey home and zapped a bottle of water to Harry’s bedside. Something told him he was probably going to need it.

-

When Louis came down for breakfast, he was alarmed to see his mother slaving over a hot cauldron. 

“Alright,” he said. “Now I’m scared.”

“Oh, darling. I’m just making a potion.”

Louis resisted the urge to be so rude as to say  _ duh _ to his mother.

“What are you making?”

Jay blinked. “Soup.”

“Soup?”

“Hair soup. It promotes hair growth.”

Louis looked at her sceptically. “Did you buy that from QVC, or…”

“Oh, Louis. It’s real magic. If you don’t believe me, take a sip.”

He rolled his eyes as he peered into the cauldron, and Jay pulled out a big wooden spoon and held it out to him. He sipped the hot liquid from it before wincing.

“Tastes like… tomato. But… off.”

“I’ll add some more salt and sardines.”

“Sardines?” Louis exclaimed. “Gross. And where exactly am I supposed to be growing hair right now?”

Jay smiled serenely. “You’ll see.”

Louis didn’t want to ask if hair was currently growing somewhere he didn’t want his mother to see, so he just shrugged and left for class. Despite the fact it was nearing 11am, Louis hadn’t had nearly enough sleep and he fell asleep on the bus. He woke up just in time, groggy as he walked onto campus.

“Louis?”

Louis turned around to see a girl from Zayn’s course running towards him. 

“Hi, Shona.”

“Have you heard from Zayn? He wasn’t in class this morning. It’s unlike him.”

“Oh.” Louis frowned. “We went to a party last night. I hope he’s okay.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Shona said with a smile, waving before she ran off to her next class.

Louis frowned and pulled his phone out. He dialled Zayn, and it rung out.

“Ah!” Louis sighed, trying not to let panic swell up inside of him. “Okay, um…  _ My friend is missing and I’m starting to worry, show me where he is in a hurry.” _

Louis found himself in a grungy dorm bathroom, watching Zayn with his head in a toilet.

“God,” Zayn whined. “Please let me die.”

Louis folded his arms and smirked. So he was hungover. Very hungover. Louis would have to remember to kill Zayn later for making him worry, but for now, he searched his brain for an incantation that might help in the short term.

_ “Zayn’s feeling like shit, help him get to class, lickety split.” _

Zayn wiped his mouth and jumped to his feet.

“I really need to get to class!” he said to himself. “Now!”

-

Louis grabbed a quick sandwich for lunch in the twenty minutes he had between a lecture and a practical class. As he dashed back, he bumped into Shona again.

“Hey! So, did Zayn turn up?”

She rolled her eyes. “He turned up, alright. Threw up all over his charcoal sketch.”

“No!”

“Our professor was so mad.” Shona shook her head. “He really shouldn’t have come in.”

Fuck it. Louis supposed his wording might have been… off. He hadn’t even mentioned making Zayn feel better. He was going to have to be careful. He guessed he thought his magic could just… read his mind and fill in the blanks.

Once his uni day had finished, Louis found Zayn under a tree. 

“Z, what are you doing out here? It’s freezing!”

“I’ve lost all concept of what it is to be alive.”

“Dramatic much?” Louis smiled. “Come on. I have an old family recipe for a banging hangover cure. You’re coming to mine.”

Zayn looked rather queasy on the bus, but he managed to hold the contents of his stomach and they arrived at Louis’.

“Um… wait here one sec,” Louis said as they got to the front door. “Let me just check my mum’s okay with having someone round.”

“You have to ask permission? Louis, man, you need to move out.”

“Just… pipe down.”

Louis went inside, closing the door firmly behind him. He headed through to the kitchen and was utterly unsurprised to see the kitchen full of dirty cauldrons, chicken feathers inexplicably strewn across the floor, and Niall with a pencil in his mouth, using it to type on a laptop.

“Be a cat. I’ve got a mortal outside.”

“Down with mortals!” Niall said, the pencil dropping from his mouth. “They ruin everything.”

“You’re on thin ice.”

Niall glared at Louis. “Meow.”

Louis rolled his eyes and magically cleared up the kitchen. He dashed out to the front door and let Zayn in.

“Take your time, it’s only minus a hundred out here.”

“Just be quiet and lay down on the sofa. I’ll go and whip you up that remedy.”

Zayn looked around. “This place is cool. Kinda gothic.”

“Don’t snoop.”

“I won’t.” Zayn raised his eyebrows. “Hey, did you have that facial hair earlier?”

Louis dashed over to the hall mirror. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in a good few days.

“Bloody hair soup!”

He dashed into the kitchen, where Niall greeted him with a scowl and a pointed  _ meow. _

“If I shave this, is it gonna just come straight back?”

“Meow.”

“Niall, for God’s sake!”

“What’s going on?” Footsteps on the stairs announced Jay into the room and Louis sighed in relief.

“I did a spell to make Zayn go to class but forgot to tell it to make him not sick so he threw up in class and pissed everyone off. I brought him back with me to see if I can brew up a potion to make him feel better and now he’s wondering why I suddenly have a beard!” Louis flopped down onto a chair. “And the cat’s being a dickhead.”

“Look, if you’re going to be friends with Zayn, weird stuff will happen all the time. You’ll have to just get used to making excuses.” Jay nodded. “Now, I have the perfect thing for Zayn’s hangover.”

Jay pointed at the table and a glass appeared with a dark brown liquid in it.

“Ah, a potion. Thanks so much.”

“Actually, it’s just flat Coke. Trust me, works wonders.”

Louis nodded. “Right. Okay. Zayn’s expecting some weird concoction, but sure, flat Coke.”

“Add a dash of cinnamon. It’ll make it taste weird.” 

Louis pointed his finger at the Coke before picking up the glass and sniffing. “Ugh, yep. That’s weird.”

He took the drink through to the living room, where he found Zayn laying on the sofa. He thought he was asleep until he heard a quiet whining coming from him.

“Alright, lad. Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself.”

Zayn sat up and winced. “I’ve never felt so ill in my entire life. I don’t know what possessed me to even come to class.”

“Yeah, weird.” Louis quickly shoved the glass into Zayn’s hands. “Drink up.”

Zayn screwed his face up as he sniffed the drink. “Ugh, what is this?”

“It’s a secret.”

Zayn downed the beverage in one before wincing. “Gross.”

“It’ll work. Or so my mum says.”

“Can I nap here?” Zayn asked. “Home is… so far.”

“Go for it.”

-

“I drank  _ so _ much,” Zayn said with a coy smile. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“I heard you were dancing on tables,” Harry offered. “I wish we’d stayed, now.”

Louis let out a little giggle as he sipped tea from his mug. He found out the hard way not to order tea at the cafe. Liam had a strange tendency to completely mess up teamaking, so Louis had tipped it out and conjured his own. He was getting good enough at magic to subtly pull it off in public. If you classed conjuring tea and poorly worded incantations as good enough.

“I’m never drinking again,” Zayn moaned.

“Yeah, yeah.” Louis leaned back in his chair and grinned. “You’ve already asked me to a party for this weekend.”

“I wanna go!” Harry said, standing up. “Going for a wee. Be right back.”

Liam took that opportunity to walk up to their table and tap Louis on the shoulder.

“Fun party the other night. Harry’s so cute, isn’t he?” Liam laughed derisively. “Sorry about taking him away from you. Men want who they want, I suppose.”

Liam smiled, trying to look sweet but coming across as the snake he was. 

“Well, we’re just friends.” Louis smiled back in a similar manner. “So I really couldn’t care less who he dances with.”

Liam smiled mockingly before rolling his eyes and walking away.

Zayn watched Liam retreat before speaking. “So?  _ Do  _ you like Harry?”

“What?” Louis exclaimed, maybe a little too loudly. “No. No. Just as a friend.”

“Oh.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Do you?”

“Me? No!”

“Well,” Louis said with an awkward laugh. “Great. The three of us can continue hanging out as friends, then.”

-

Two things were bothering Louis.

One was that, after Zayn’s questioning, he was starting to think that maybe he fancied Harry, just a little bit. He loved being around him, and he definitely found him attractive. Another clue was regarding the second thing that bothered him.

He wasn’t sure that Zayn was telling the truth about liking Harry, either.

“Mum?” Louis said, coming into the kitchen where Jay was staring at her laptop. “Is there a potion I can make to make me concentrate? I can’t focus on reading this bloody play for class. Too much on my mind.”

“I have just the solution,” Jay said, grabbing Louis and pulling him in for a hug. “It’s called telling your mother what’s bugging you.”

Louis sighed and groaned. “Fine. Okay, so I think I have a crush.”

“Ooh,” Jay cooed. “Alright.”

“The thing is, I think Zayn likes him too, even though he told me he didn’t.” Louis guiltily looked down at the floor. “I lied, too. Well, it wasn’t a lie, as such, but…”

“You’re eighteen, so I’m comfortable telling you this. Keeping the truth from someone isn’t always such a bad thing. Honesty is  _ usually _ the best policy, but it isn’t always.”

“Doesn’t help me much, Mum.”

“That being said…” Jay pulled away from him and headed towards the pantry. “There is something I think will help.”

She pulled out a little container of ice cream sprinkles, and Louis raised an eyebrow sceptically.

“Multicoloured sprinkles?”

‘Truth sprinkles.” Jay corrected him with a smile. “If you really want to know how Zayn feels, just feed him a few of these. Something extra sweet is best. The truth can be bitter.”

“Things get way too literal in the magic world,” Louis said as he took the container from his mother. “Do I need an antidote for after?”

“Honey, most potions wear off after a little while. Just don’t feed him too many sprinkles.” She pointed a finger at him. “And since we’re learning: Most potions wear off, most  _ spells _ do not. If you put a spell on someone, you’ll likely have to lift it to get them back to normal.”

“Thanks, Mum.’ Louis tapped a finger on the container of sprinkles. “Now, what should I feed Zayn?”

-

“I got you something.”

Zayn looked up from his book. Louis wasn’t exactly keen on giving Zayn the sprinkles in the library, but he knew Zayn would be here for hours.

“Oh?”

Louis opened the little card box to reveal the three layer chocolate fudge cake. Zayn’s eyes widened.

“Lou, I just had lunch.”

“I can’t eat it by myself,” Louis said. ‘Help me? Just eat a few bites.”

“I’m studying.”

Louis handed Zayn a fork. “You need the sugar.”

“You’ve lost the plot,” Zayn mumbled, taking the fork and digging it into the point of the cake, covered in sprinkles. He popped it into his mouth. “Mm, that’s nice.”

“Yeah?”

“You know what it tastes like?” He paused to swallow. “It tastes like I lied to you yesterday.”

“You lied?”

“To be honest, I think I have a bit of a crush on Harry. I was kind of thinking of asking him out. You know, just, like, the two of us.”

Louis felt like he might scream, or faint, or both. Instead, he fixed his face with a mildly surprised smile.

“Oh, really?” Louis raised his eyebrows. “Cool. Yeah, go for it.”

“You honestly don’t mind?”

Louis froze his smile on his face. “Absolutely not.”

-

“Harry and Zayn?” Louis scoffed.  _ “Harry and Zayn?” _

“I don’t know these people,” Niall said, disinterested as he read the paper. 

“Zayn’s my best friend at uni and Harry’s…” Louis sighed. “They’re my uni friends, okay?”

“And?”

“And they’re going out without me. Tonight.”

“So? Gatecrash.”

“On their date?” Louis scoffed. “I’m desperate, but I’m not  _ that _ desperate.”

“Turn yourself into something they won’t see.” Niall smirked. “Like a cat!”

“Again, I’m not that desperate.” Louis chewed the inside of his cheek. “What could I turn myself into?”

“There’s a good  _ fly on the wall _ spell. If you think you can bring yourself to not get distracted by piles of shit.”

“Ew.” Louis scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Can I still point in order to turn myself back?”

“No,” Niall said sarcastically. “The sky is filled with nosy witches who couldn’t turn themselves back from winged insects.”

“Right, I’ve had enough of you.” Louis pointed at Niall and a strip of tape sealed his mouth shut. “When you can learn to be helpful, I’ll ungag you.”

Niall narrowed his little yellow eyes.

-

Louis arrived at the little pizza place Zayn told him he would be taking Harry. Sure enough, Louis saw them through the window, laughing together. Panic bubbled in his stomach.

“Calm down, Tommo,” he muttered to himself. “Okay, here we go.”

He slipped in through the door, quickly ducking into a spare booth and hiding under the table.

“Okay.  _ Are they having fun, are they having a ball, to find out, make me a fly on the wall.” _

Louis felt violently sick, but only for a second because suddenly he was hovering in the air and zooming around the pizza place. He felt so light, so free. And then he remembered why he was there.

He buzzed on over to Zayn and Harry and landed on Harry’s shoulder. The smell of aftershave wafting from his neck was dizzying, but Louis had to focus.

“I like drawing with charcoal the most, but watercolours have a certain charm.”

“Cool,” Harry said. “I can barely draw stick figures.”

“Louis told me you sing,” Zayn said. “I’d love to hear you sometime.”

“Oh, um…” Harry cleared his throat. “Well, maybe we’ll do a concert at the end of the year. I might be convinced to sing.”

“I bet you’re great,” Zayn said with a smile. “Oh, hey. There’s a fly on you.”

Zayn swatted at Louis and he had no choice but to fly away. He circled the booth, and this time landed behind Harry. 

“I love the cinema, too!” Harry said. “You’re into Marvel, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I like supernatural stuff. There’s something about magical themes that just captures me.”

Louis rubbed his legs together. So, Harry liked magic. One-nil to the witch boy.

“We should go to the cinema more, then!” Zayn said. “It would be fun. We could have a weekly movie night.”

“That sounds great.”

Louis sighed the best he could. They were finding common ground. They were making plans. He flew off, landing on a chair on the other side of the restaurant. He saw Harry throw his head back in laughter and decided he had seen enough. It was a bit awkward, but he managed to point whatever part of him used to be his finger at himself, and he ended up in a heap behind the chair, human once again. Without looking back, he snuck into the men’s toilets and stopped to take a breather.

“Get a grip,” he muttered to himself. “You can’t have everything you want.”

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he was startled to see a text from Zayn.

_ ‘You busy? Come to the pizza place!’ _

Louis raised his eyebrows. Well, that wasn’t expected. Why was he being invited along on their date? He started to make his way out, before realising he would arrive way too quickly.

_ ‘Sure, I’m just round the corner actually! Be there in a few.’ _

He pocketed his phone before slipping out of the toilets and finding a fire exit. He waited in the back alley for a few minutes before taking a slow walk around to the entrance. He walked in and pretended to look around for Harry and Zayn.

“Oh, hi!”

“Lou!” Zayn said with a grin. “You’re here.”

“Hiya, mate.” Harry gave him a warm smile, squeezing his shoulder. “Sit down. I’ll go order you a drink. And do you want something to eat?”

“Um, just some garlic bread would be great. Thanks, Harry.”

Harry smiled again before walking off to find their waiter. Louis turned to Zayn with his eyebrows raised.

“Come on, then. Why on earth have you invited me on your date?”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “It didn’t take long for me to realise that it just wouldn’t work. We’ll be good friends, but I think going on a date with him was a huge mistake.”

“I thought you guys were getting on so well!” Louis said, without thinking. “Well… I mean… I thought you guys would click. You’re both film fans and stuff.”

“We both realised it’s much more fun with you here.” Zayn shrugged. “See how happy he was to see you?”

Louis took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. Because I didn’t exactly tell you the truth.”

“Oh?”

“I didn’t really lie. I said I didn’t like Harry in that way, and I didn’t think I did until you made me think about it.”

“So you do?”

“I think so,” Louis said. “But I don’t have to do anything if it’s awkward.”

“It’s absolutely cool, mate.” Zayn gently swatted at Louis’ arm. “Shh, he’s coming.”

“Don’t say anything!”

“Obviously,” Zayn scoffed.

“You guys talking about me?” Harry asked with a smirk as he returned to the table.

“Yeah,” Louis replied with a shrug.

-

Louis and Zayn sat in the campus common room glaring over at Liam.

“He’s sick.”

“Mm. Twisted.”

Zayn shook his head. “You should give him a big old slap.”

“I won’t resort to violence, okay?” Louis glanced at Zayn. “Not yet, anyway.”

“You need to ask Harry out before Liam does.”

“Harry won’t fall for those cheap tactics.” Louis stared as Liam sat on the arm of the chair Harry was in, the book he had been studying open in his lap. “If he sits on his knee, I’m gonna flip out.”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Zayn said. “Come on. What are you waiting for? Ask Harry out.”

“It just… it’s not the right time.” Louis shrugged. “I don’t even know if he likes me. It would be humiliating if he turned me down.”

“Maybe you should start with hanging out with him, one on one, just as friends.”

“I guess.” Louis frowned. “For now, I think I’m gonna get him away from Liam.”

“Good luck with that.” Zayn snickered and looked down at the pencil sketch he was lazily drawing.

Louis discreetly pointed his finger at Liam, who immediately farted so loudly that even Louis was embarrassed for being the one to cause it. Harry grimaced, trying his best to smile politely as he got out of his chair and made his way over to his friends.

“I think Liam’s unwell.” Harry glanced over to where Liam was making a hasty retreat from the common room. “I’m gonna open a window.”

“Embarrassing,” Zayn said with a smirk.

Louis watched Harry walk out of earshot. “Liam’s a loser, Harry’s hanging out with us. All is well again.”

“So,” Harry said as he returned to Louis and Zayn. “What are we doing tonight? Don’t either of you dare say you have too much work to do.”

Zayn and Louis glanced at each other before Zayn looked at Harry. “Sorry, man. I really am just so busy.”

Harry glared at him before shaking his head and turning to look at Louis in expectation.

“Uh…” Louis looked away from Zayn and smiled at Harry. “Yes, I’m free.”

“Great! Do you wanna come round mine and watch a DVD? My housemate bought loads of snacks that he meant to take home to Devon with him but he left them all behind by accident.”

“That sounds amazing.”

-

Louis couldn’t concentrate on the film. Harry was slumping in his direction on the sofa and he was worried they would make contact with each other. He wouldn’t be able to cope at all. He would be fine, as long as they weren’t touching.

He just hoped Harry wasn’t one of those over-cuddly people.

“Sorry,” Harry muttered, sitting up straight again. “I’m falling asleep.”

“Look, do you want me to go? If you’re so tired-”

“No, no.” Harry paused the film and stood up. “I’m just gonna have some coffee.”

Harry returned a few minutes later clutching a chipped blue mug. 

“Are you going to that… dance thing?” Harry asked as he sat back down. “Seems a bit cheesy.”

“Oh, I heard some girls talking about it.”

“It’s some kind of fresher’s ball. But apparently more… organised and structured than a party. I don’t know. But we’re all supposed to go.”

“Right.” Louis felt too warm suddenly. “Well, um… I’ll probably go, then. If I can find a date.”

“Mm, a date.” Harry took a sip of coffee. “I guess I’ll go. But, hey! More importantly, are you going to the party over on the other campus on Thursday?”

“Absolutely not. Unlike  _ some people,  _ I don’t want to rely on coffee to get me through. I’d rather rely on traditional methods, like… sleep.”

“Weak,” Harry said lightly. “Oh, I forgot to unpause the film.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Harry unpaused the film and, when he had finished his cup of coffee, he shifted closer to Louis and laid his head on his shoulder.

“This okay?”

“Yeah,” Louis said. He wasn’t lying. As much as he had tried to avoid crossing this kind of line with Harry, he kind of liked it. A lot.

-

Louis arrived home in a bit of a daydream and startled slightly to see his mother sitting at the kitchen table.

“What are you doing still up?”

“I’m coming down with a cold. Got a bit of a tickle in my throat. I’ve just been trying to decide whether to soothe it with hot or cold.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I just hope it’s a mortal cold and not a witch cold.” Jay’s mouth twisted into a frown. “Let’s just say that last time I had a witch cold, your father had to literally dig me out of a particularly phlegmy episode.”

“Urgh.” Louis held his stomach. “Absolutely gross.”

“Sorry.” She smiled. “How was your evening?”

“Pleasant enough,” Louis replied cryptically.

“Wonderful. Well, I think I need something cold.” Jay pointed at the freezer. “Grab two spoons and the ice cream I just conjured, will you?”

“I wanna learn how to do that,” Louis said with a sigh as he opened the cutlery drawer, pulling out two spoons and moving to the freezer. “I keep trying to conjure chocolate but I just-”

Louis was scared out of his wits as he opened the freezer and a giant eye was sitting on the frozen peas, screaming at him. He slammed the door shut and leaned his back against it.

“What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know!” Jay said, before rolling her eyes. “Ohh, I know. I don’t have a cold. I have Punnitis.”

“Punnitis?” Louis asked, exasperated.

“Yeah. Any intentional or unintentional pun I make over the next five days or so will become a reality.” Jay sighed and propped her hand on her chin. “I need to be careful what I say.”

“The whole magic world is so weird.” Louis rolled his eyes. “And we still don’t have ice cream, I’d like to point out.”

“You’d better try it. If you can’t do it, we’re not eating.”

-

Louis woke up the next morning to a strange smell in the house, but he didn’t think anything of it until he went downstairs for breakfast and found a bunch of pigs - real, live, actual pigs - curled up asleep in front of the fridge, blankets draped over them. His mother was sitting at the table, looking guilty.

“Mum, what now?”

“I fancied those little sausages wrapped in bacon for my breakfast.” She pressed her lips together before speaking again. “So I tried to conjure pigs in blankets.”

“I’m not sure that’s strictly a pun,” Louis said with a frown as he glanced at the pigs. “Aww, they’re so sweet.”

“They have to go,” Niall said from somewhere. “They’re ten times the size of me!”

“Not quite,” Jay said. “I’ll send them away once they’re awake. It would be cruel to get them up.”

“I’m starting to become accustomed to this kind of thing, unfortunately.” Louis conjured himself some tea and toast, earning him a side-eye. “I don’t wanna wake the pigs by getting up!”

“Right, I’m at work today. If you need me, call my mobile.”

“You sure you should go to work? In the mortal realm? With Punnitis?”

“Louis, I only work part time as it is. I can’t afford to take any time off.” She sighed. “As I said, I’ll just have to be careful.”

“Well, if you feel taken by the urge to say the phrase,  _ Liam Payne is a dickhead, _ I’d be very grateful.”

“Louis!” Jay scolded. “Don’t be so cheeky.”

Louis giggled to himself as he took a bite of his toast. Almost immediately, he felt his face swelling up.

“Uh, Mum? Mum!” Louis tried to dampen his panic. “What’s happened? Did I conjure something I’m allergic to?”

Jay bit down on her thumb. “Sorry, darling. It’s me.”

“You called me cheeky.” Louis rolled his eyes. “Can you do something? I’m not going to class like this!”

-

“How’d it go with Harry?”

Louis turned to glare at Zayn. “We’re just friends.”

“Blah blah blah. So you didn’t make a move?”

“No!” Louis shook his head and sighed. “And I don’t think I will. Not for a while.”

“Louis! There’s no way he doesn’t like you.”

“Well, okay. What if we go out and the same thing happens with me as it did with you?”

“It won’t. And anyway, if it does, it does. It’s not the end of the world. Isn’t it better to try?”

Louis stroppily kicked Zayn under the table. So, maybe he was making excuses to hide the truth, which was that he was fairly shy when it came to this stuff. And anyway, if Harry liked Louis, why didn’t  _ he  _ do the asking out?

“Maybe you should ask him to that dance thing,” Zayn said. Louis nearly threw his book at him.

-

The three of them were sat in the cafe, eating croissants and each studying. Louis wasn’t paying much attention to the notes from the workshop that he was reading over. His eyes were turned upwards, staring at Harry, opposite him at the table.

Maybe he would find the courage to ask him to that bloody dance thing. He felt brave today. 

“Harry?” he whispered.

Harry looked up, just in time to see Liam, who approached the table and put his hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Hey, Harry. You wanna go with me to the dance?”

“Um, yeah. Sure.”

“Great,” Liam replied, smiling sweetly. “Pick me up at eight.”

Louis couldn’t believe his ears. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to scream or cry. In the end, he resorted to pointing at the floor just in front of Liam, conjuring some water which Liam slipped on and fell over on his arse.

“Clumsy,” Louis said airily.

-

“And then just…  _ just _ as I opened my mouth to ask him out, suddenly Liam was there and pipped me to the post.” Louis turned away from Niall and buried his face in his pillow. “Why is life so unfair?”

“Aww,” Niall said indulgently. “I know. Being a teenager is hard. Not like, say, being turned into a cat.”

Louis flipped over and glared at Niall. “You’re just a selfish, whiny, wormy little furball, aren’t you?”

“How dare you,” Niall said. “You know what I am? I’m a blue-eyed, charming, guitar-playing Irishman who loves a good drink and a game of golf.”

Louis’ heart softened a bit. Okay, so it probably was difficult having your whole life taken away from you and being locked up in the body of a cat.

“Aw. And now you’re a little, black, four kilogram moggy with yellow eyes.”

“But on the plus side, I eat more fish than I did when I was human.” Niall sighed and crawled onto Louis’ stomach. “Look, you need to find a date for that dance. Show Harry what he’s missing.”

“Does that tactic  _ ever _ work?”

“Please,” Niall scoffed. “It always works.”

“Can’t I just put a love spell on him?” Louis asked hopefully.

“What do you think?” Niall asked, before letting out a little laugh. “Love spells are illegal. You can’t use supernatural powers to mess around with matters of the heart.”

“Fine.” Louis shook his head. “Will magic ever help me?”

“I’m telling you! Make him jealous.”

“I don’t really know many people. Except for Zayn, but I really don’t think that would make Harry jealous.”

“Go onto your Magic Book app and search ‘Man Dough’.”

Louis frowned at Niall, but did as he was told. He read the spell on the page, mumbling it under his breath before pointing at his desk. A box appeared upon it.

“Niall, this better work.” Louis shot him a look as he stood up. “And  _ not _ backfire.”

“You know I can never promise that.”

“Mm.” Louis picked the box up and read the side. “This seems complicated.”

“What’s complicated?” Niall replied. “You just mould him exactly how you want him, then mix up a glaze of his desired personality from the provided bottles. Then you brush it on with a pastry brush. Not exactly difficult, Lou.”

“Shoot me for not understanding the concept of literally moulding a man.” Louis pouted. “Should I start now? Where would he sleep? No dirty comments.”

“He’ll only last for four hours, so make him at the very last minute. You don’t want a dough man deflating in the middle of your dance.” Niall narrowed his eyes. “Believe me.  _ Very  _ hard to explain away.”

-

“Coast is clear,” Niall said in hushed tones as he trotted into the kitchen. “Jay’s just got into the bath and, by the sounds of it, she’s had quite a rough day. She could be hours.”

“Fantastic.” Louis conjured up a huge table in place of their kitchen one in order to mould the man dough on. “Right, let’s get started.”

Louis got to work. He moulded a man who was just under six foot, with long, lean legs and big hands. Even in dough form, he seemed oddly familiar.

“Now, I don’t have to mould, like, organs and stuff, do I?”

“You’re only moulding the superficial. Everything else gets there by this little thing I like to call  _ magic.” _

“Shut up, cat. Or I’ll rustle up some dog dough and mould a great dane.”

“Nooo!”

Louis took a step back to admire his work. “I think he’s finished.”

“Don’t forget the glaze.”

Louis took a look at all the bottles. They had catered for  _ everything.  _ Enthusiasm. Scepticism. Paranoia. You could even choose the career path your man had chosen: Musician, actor, accountant… the list went on and Louis got bored.

“I don’t need to pick a career for him, do I? I thought he only lasts four hours?”

“What people choose to do with their lives is part of their personality, Lou.” 

The first ingredient in Louis’ glaze was  _ musician. _ He added a dash of  _ caring  _ and a splash of  _ good sense of humour _ and just a drop of  _ shy. _ He picked up the brush and dusted the dough, before throwing a sheet over him and sitting down.

“How long do I have to wait?”

“Ten to fifteen minutes.” Niall jumped down from the counter. “Call me when he’s nearly done. Nature calls.”

“Ew.” Louis sighed. “How am I supposed to know when he’s nearly done?”

But Niall was gone, and Louis took the time to spread some peanut butter on a slice of bread, fold it in half and eat it. The man had started to rise a bit, and he reckoned it was nearly time.

“Louis Tomlinson.”

Louis spun around to see his mother walking down the stairs. 

“Mum!”

“Well, something smells handsome.” Jay folded her arms. “Man dough?”

“Blame Niall! That feline is a terrible influence.”

Jay sighed. “Well, I’m glad you’re using your magic. But I want you to understand the morals of this. You can’t mould and shape a man to be exactly who you want him to be. You need to take people for who they are, flaws and all.”

“Thanks, Mum. But who this guy was before I moulded him was a big blob of yeast.”

“Fair.” Jay laughed. “So, is this your dream boy? I can’t wait to see how he turns out.”

There was a  _ ping _ and suddenly a real, living, breathing man sat up. He pulled the sheet off of his face and upper body. He looked around, smiling.

“Hi! Wow, it feels good to be here.”

“Hi, I’m Louis.” Louis held his hand up in greeting. “I’m, um… your date.”

The man smiled warmly. “You look very nice.”

Louis looked down at his tracksuit. “I’m not ready yet.”

He pointed at himself and his clothes changed to a black, fitted suit paired with a grey shirt, open at the neck.

“Now I’m ready.”

“Louis?” Jay said. “Give him clothes too.”

“Oh, right.” Louis pointed at the man and gave him a navy blue suit. “Sweet!”

“You look  _ really _ nice,” the man said, standing up and crooking his arm out to Louis. “Shall we?”

Louis turned back to his mum and gave her a beaming smile.

-

“Okay, so we’ll name you…” Louis shrugged and racked his brains. “I dunno. Ronan.”

“Ronan?” Ronan nodded. “I like it.”

“Your parents are big Boyzone fans,” Louis said with a shake of the head. “You go to university in Essex.”

“Alright. Anything specific you want me to do?”

“You’re doing well so far. Just… more of the same. Maybe when we dance, pull me close.” Louis rolled his eyes. “To be honest, I’m trying to make someone jealous. But not too aggressively. Just… subtle.”

“No problem.” Ronan smiled at Louis. “I can kiss you. If you want.”

“Umm…” Louis paused. Ronan was pretty attractive, what with his hand-crafted green eyes and dimples and pert lips, but it might have been a step too far that made him uncomfortable. “I’ll let you know.”

“Sure.”

They arrived at the dance, an elaborate set up that seemed somewhat young for its audience, almost like a secondary school Prom. Still, it was the thought that counted. Besides, Ronan seemed to love it. 

“This is amazing! The best thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Well, it’s nicer than my kitchen, if that’s what you mean.”

Ronan laughed quietly. “So, should we get to dancing?”

“Let’s have a drink.” Louis furrowed his eyebrows. “Can you actually drink?”

“Yeah!” Ronan nodded. “I’d love a beer. Something really yeasty.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

They headed to the bar and Louis bought them each a beer. 

“So,” Ronan said, leaning close to Louis. “Who’s the lucky man or woman who is the object of your affection?”

“His name’s Harry.” Louis took a long swig of beer. “I can’t see him. Maybe he’s not arrived yet.”

“I can’t wait to meet him. If you like him, he must be really great.”

Louis regarded Ronan. “Tell me about yourself, Ronan. I mean… I made you, obviously, and I mixed and glazed your personality, but I mean… Do you literally only exist in these four hours? Could I make you again and get the exact same you?”

“Nope,” Ronan said with a sad smile. “Like you said, I literally exist for four hours.”

“That’s amazing,” Louis said in wonder. “Magic really is fantastic. It seems a waste of a good person, though.”

“I guess you’re new to the whole magic thing. You need to stop thinking of me as a person. In reality… I’m just a spell.”

Louis grinned. “I can’t get my head around it.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Ronan said softly. “You’re so clever.”

Louis felt his cheeks get warm. “Is it possible to fall in love in four hours?”

Ronan shrugged. “You don’t wanna fall in love with me. I’m stodgy and have a tendency to go bad.”

Louis giggled. This spell was kind of disturbing, in the sense that he definitely fancied this one. He, of course, couldn’t have a spell as a boyfriend.

“Oh, God. Ronan. That’s Harry, over there.”

“Which one?”

Louis frowned, pointing over to where Harry just walked in with Liam. “The curly-haired one.”

“Wow. He’s stunning.”

“Thank you,” Louis replied without thinking. “He’s lovely, you know.”

“Let’s dance.” Ronan took Louis’ beer and placed both their bottles on the bar. “Come on. Show him you know how to have a good time.”

Louis let Ronan lead him onto the dance floor and pull him close. They danced for a few songs, Louis’ heart soaring every time he saw Harry glance over at them. Harry and Liam weren’t dancing, and Liam didn’t look too happy about it. Louis saw them talking, and then Liam stormed off. Harry frowned and sat down, pulling his phone out and playing on it idly.

“Um, Ronan?” Louis pulled away. “Do you mind if we take a break?”

“No problem!”

“Why don’t you get yourself another drink?” Louis pulled out a fiver and handed it to him. “Keep yourself busy.”

Ronan nodded and drifted off towards the bar. Louis walked over to where Harry was sitting and sat down next to him.

“Hiya,” Louis said.

“Lou! Hi.” Harry gestured over to where Ronan was retreating. “Who’s your date? He’s very cute.”

“Oh, that’s Ronan. He goes to university in Essex.” 

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“No, no. No.” Louis cleared his throat. “I’m single.”

Harry nodded, before sighing, so quietly that Louis almost didn’t hear him. It might have been Louis’ imagination, but there was a weird sort of tension between them, pulled taut like a rubber band. He felt as though he should tread carefully, as not to snap it.

“Um, where’s Liam?”

Harry sighed again, louder this time. “He got pissed off with me because I don’t really dance. He’s gone off somewhere, I don’t know where.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well.” Harry looked at Louis and smiled sadly. “Maybe you were right about Liam. I get the feeling he didn’t really like me. Just wanted to show me off.”

“That’s because you’re so good looking,” Louis said, lazily draping his arm around Harry and grinning. “Forget about Liam.”

“Cheers, Lou.”

“Do you wanna get out of here? We can go have a milkshake or something.”

“What about your date?”

“Right! Ronan.” Louis rolled his eyes. “Um, stay here. I’ll be back.”

Louis headed over to the bar and stopped dead when he saw Ronan chatting to Liam. When Ronan saw him, he excused himself and headed over. 

“Hi!”

“Ronan, do you mind if I leave?” Louis smiled coyly. “Harry and I are gonna go grab a milkshake.”

“That’s great!” Ronan shook his head. “I don’t mind. I’ve been talking to Liam.”

“I can see that.”

“Do you mind if I dance with him?”

Louis sighed. “Knock yourself out. Just don’t deflate in front of him, or anything.”

“As soon as I start coughing up flour, I’m outta here.” Ronan smiled. “Thanks, Louis.”

“Have a good time.”

Louis said one last goodbye to Ronan and headed back to Harry. 

“Ready!”

They headed out, pausing in the hallway so that Louis could pop to the toilet. When he came back, Harry was smiling strangely and stayed put when Louis made his way towards the exit.

“Are you alright?”

“Um…” Harry looked around at the empty hallway self consciously. “Do you wanna dance?”

“Here?” Louis asked, a smile spreading across his face. “If you insist.”

“I definitely don’t insist,” Harry said with a soft giggle. “But since no one else is around…”

Louis’ heart thumped in his chest as he and Harry stepped towards each other. Harry wrapped his arms around Louis’ waist, and Louis draped his around Harry’s neck. Their close proximity made Louis feel too warm, and the tension was back between them as they started to move in time to the slow music echoing in the hallway.

“This is nice, actually,” Harry said quietly. “I think Liam would kill me if he came out and saw us now.”

“Forget Liam,” Louis said for the second time that night.

“Yeah,” Harry murmured. “I’m with you, now.”

Louis pulled Harry closer and rested his chin on his shoulder. He and Harry were finally bonding, becoming closer and maybe, just maybe, Harry was interested in him.

“Was Ronan alright with you leaving?”

“Mm, yeah. Believe it or not, he’d started chatting to Liam. I think they were gonna dance.”

“That figures,” Harry said. “I can’t believe you left Mr. Perfect in there for Liam to get his hands on.”

“Ronan? Perfect?” Louis scoffed. “Nah. Not perfect.”

“Yeah!” Harry laughed. “Charming and sweet, not to mention hot.”

“That isn’t everything, Harry.” Louis dared to pull him closer, and his heart thumped even harder. “Chemistry is more important.”

“Yeah,” Harry whispered. “I agree.”

The sound of a door banging rang out through the hallway and Harry jumped back.

“Um… so. Milkshakes?”

-

Louis arrived home and Jay was watching TV. She looked at her watch.

“Gosh, you’re home late. Your date must have dematerialised at least an hour ago.”

Louis tried to hide a smile. “Well, I went out with Harry after.”

“Ooh,” Niall said mockingly. “Harry!”

Louis pointed his finger at Niall and encased him in a plastic, soundproof bubble.

“Ah, peace and quiet,” Jay said with a grin. “So, you had fun?”

“Yup.”

“That’s wonderful, darling.” Jay switched the TV off. “Right, I’m off to bed. You should go to bed too, Lou. You’ve got to be knackered.”

Louis felt himself being transferred and immediately knew his mother still had Punnitis. He remembered what she said, and as he materialised, he was filled with fear. His fears were confirmed when he realised he was in a knacker’s yard.

“Mum!” he shouted, knowing she probably wouldn’t hear him. He closed his eyes, held his breath, and pointed at himself. 

When he materialised back in his living room, his mum looked guilty and he felt traumatised.

“Sorry, Louis. Where did you go?”

“Knacker’s yard. Is there nothing you can take for that Punnitis?”

“It has to run its course. Are you okay?”

“Well, unlike the poor horse I just made eye contact with, I won’t be glue by morning.” Louis rubbed his forehead. “I don’t think I can sleep now.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, Mum.” Louis rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry. You go to bed.”

Jay apologised again and went up to bed. Louis sighed and sat on the sofa, pulling his phone out to text Harry.

_ ‘Don’t laugh, but I just watched a few mins of a really scary film and now I can’t sleep!!!xxx’ _

Louis was just starting to wonder what might take his mind off the poor horse, but Harry’s reply came through almost immediately.

_ ‘That’s sweet! I’d never laugh at you. Try and get some sleep xx’ _

Louis smiled to himself.

-

Louis woke up after just seven hours’ sleep - far less than his usual ten - but he had slept soundly, after zapping the horse into a field. He knew that would make him feel better. Sure, the horse would probably still die, but at least he would be in a much less terrifying environment.

He made a mental note to set up a monthly donation to a horse charity.

Throwing a dressing gown over his boxers, Louis made his way downstairs. Niall was taking his mid-morning nap, stretched out across one of the steps, and Louis narrowly missed accidentally treading on him. As he made it safely to the ground floor, the doorbell rang. Louis could immediately tell through the frosted glass that it was Harry.

“What’s  _ he _ doing here?!” Louis whispered to himself. “I look like absolute crap.”

Louis hid round the corner and zapped himself into a more presentable version of himself before opening the door.

“Harry, what a surprise.”

“Hi, Lou. Wow, you look great.”

“Oh, um. I’m an early riser.” Louis smiled tightly. “You look nice too.”

Harry looked down at his clothes. “Oh. Well, I didn’t just come over here to compliment you.”

“Ah, shame.”

Harry grinned. “Um, so. I was wondering if… if you wanted to… maybe we could…”

“Haz.”

Harry took a deep breath. “Will you go out with me?”

“What?” Louis said, a smiling breaking across his face.

_ “Please  _ don’t make me say it again.”

“It’s okay.” Louis took a step closer and ran a finger over the back of Harry’s hand. “I’d love to go out with you.”

Harry sighed with relief. “Oh. Great. Thank you.” He frowned. “Um…”

“So, when were you thinking?” Louis asked, mostly to distract Harry from his own thoughts.

“Dunno. I mean… are you free now?”

“Now?” Louis asked. “I haven’t even had breakfast.”

“Well, let me take you out for brunch.”

Louis looked down and smiled at the floor. “Um, okay. Let me just go tell my mum.”

Louis dashed into the kitchen and informed his mum of the development. She instructed him to have fun, and he quickly returned to find Harry stroking Niall. Niall’s eyes were half closed, smiling in bliss.

“Oh, um… the cat gets kind of gassy. You might wanna keep your distance.”

“Ugh.” Harry frowned and walked backwards away from Niall. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” Louis watched as Harry started towards the door, before leaning down to whisper to Niall. “Back off, cat. He’s mine.”

“Ooh, you want him to stroke  _ you _ instead?”

“Niall!” Louis replied, scandalised, before realising Harry had turned to look at him. “Oh, he hissed at me.”

“Hm. Cats can be temperamental.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

-

After sharing a Full English and a stack of pancakes between the two of them, Louis and Harry decided to go to the cinema to digest. They sat in front of a teen romcom, the armrest between them lifted and Harry leaning his weight into Louis’ side. Afterwards, they went for coffee. They avoided the cafe on campus, not wanting Liam to intrude on their date.

“This is nice,” Harry said. 

“It is.”

“Louis?” Harry frowned down at his cup of coffee. “I really like you. But I have to tell you that I came out of a relationship just before I moved down here last summer. I’m ready to see people again but I just… I’m not keen on jumping into anything too fast.”

“Oh.” Louis waved a hand dismissively. “Of course. We can take it slow.”

“Great,” Harry said, sighing with relief. “Well, that’s a weight off my mind.”

“I’m glad. Ball’s in your court, okay?”

“Thanks. Hey, it’s my birthday on the first and I’m having a party. Wanna come?”

“Sure! I absolutely wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

-

“You can’t go,” Jay said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, honey. You already committed to our family reunion.”

“But it’s Harry’s birthday!” Louis whined. “We just started going out, I can’t miss this. How would it look?”

“Just tell him the truth, Louis. There’s nothing wrong with the truth.”

“Yeah, I’ll just tell him the truth. ‘My mummy won’t let me go.’ That’ll go down a storm.”

Jay frowned at him sternly. “Grow up. You made a commitment and you need to follow it through.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Louis rolled his eyes and stomped up the stairs. He went into his room, slamming the door pointedly behind him.

“Huh?” Niall said, startling out of a nap. “Louis, what are you stropping about now? Don’t you have any respect for the fact I was asleep?”

“Nope.” Louis threw himself on the bed, jostling Niall so much he had to dig his claws in. “Leave me alone, I’m pissed off enough as it is.”

“Come on, tell Uncle Niall.”

Louis growled. “It’s Harry’s birthday party on the same day as this bloody family reunion my mum’s making me go to. It’s so unfair.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Louis kicked his foot at Niall. “I love being kicked when I’m down.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t learned yet to resort to your magic. You have an app, remember?”

Louis sighed and pulled his phone out. “Fine. What am I looking for?”

“I have to do everything,” Niall muttered. “Search ‘clones’.”

“Clones?” Louis hummed as he tapped at his phone screen. “Oh, here it is. I can clone a body double to stand in for me?”

“You teach it three phrases. It still has its motor skills and stuff, but its vocabulary is limited.”

“Cool! Okay, I’ll send the clone to the family reunion and-”

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Niall shook his head. “Your mother will figure it out in two seconds flat. Just send it to Harry’s party, head out to the reunion and leave as soon as your mum lets you.”

“Hm. Fine.”

-

“It didn’t work.”

“Step aside,” Niall said.

Louis stepped to the side and left a clone of himself behind. It was mildly startling. Seeing himself from the outside was somewhat uncomfortable, and he tried to avoid looking at it. Him. Whatever.

“Alrighty. Teach him three phrases,” Niall said.

“Let’s see.” Louis tapped his chin. “All-encompassing, classic Louis phrases. What about… ‘good lad’?”

“Good lad,” the clone said, squinting his eyes into a smile as he said it.

“Cool!” Louis grinned. “Um… well, he needs a greeting. ‘Hiya.”

“Hiya,” the clone repeated.

“You need to agree a certain amount when you’re holding a conversation, so I think I’ll go with, ‘absolutely’.”

“Absolutely,” the clone repeated with conviction.

“Sorted!”

-

Louis took his clone off to Harry’s, dressing him nicely and headed back home. He was nervous, but he had faith in the spell. Niall never would have recommended him a shitty spell, right?

Well, he hoped. 

Once he got home, he and Jay headed into the basement to their portal to the other realm. The reunion was taking place in a hotel on Venus, and Louis had to admit he was curious. He had been taught his whole life that the other planets were hostile and completely inhospitable. 

What did mortals know, anyway? Since his introduction into the witch world, he was quickly learning that a lot of things mortals thought to be true were completely wrong. He didn’t really understand why anyone would send their kids to school in the mortal realm when they were being taught so much that was inaccurate.

“It’s not fair to say that a lot of it is inaccurate,” Jay said to him when he asked. “It’s mostly science stuff. But there is so much to gain from being raised in the mortal realm. Personally, I think other realm-raised witches are spoilt and entitled. They take everything for granted. The fact that my children don’t behave like that is enough to cancel out the questionable education.”

“Okay. That’s fair.” Louis smiled at his mum. “So, who am I going to meet today?”

“Well, my mother will be here. You know your grandmother, of course. Apart from that, it’s mostly distant relatives. When one moves to the mortal realm, this holier-than-thou lot tend to look down on you.” Jay stopped and grabbed Louis’ arm. “I must warn you, some of them might be a bit… anti-mortal. Don’t take it to heart. They’re ignorant bigots.”

They took a lift into the lobby of a posh hotel, and Louis headed straight for the window. The sky was dark - Venus had no moons, his mum had told him - but the lights from the hotel showed Louis a lavender-coloured, barren looking land. Louis was completely baffled to how he was currently surviving on another planet, but he didn’t really care to find out right now.

He stuck by his mother for the majority of the first hour, mingling with third cousins and uncles seven times removed, or whatever. They sat down for dinner, after which Louis spent some time with his grandmother.

“So,” she smiled kindly. “How is the mortal realm treating you?”

“It’s fine,” Louis replied. “I mean, I don’t know any better. A more appropriate question would probably be to ask how being a witch is treating me.”

“Having troubles?”

“Nah, it’s okay. I’m getting through. My mum’s teaching me a lot. I mean, so is the cat.”

“Ah, Niall, right?” Louis’ grandmother grinned. “When I found out a criminal would be living with my beloved grandchildren, I wasn’t best pleased. He isn’t encouraging you to do bad things, I hope.”

“He’s a good lad. I think he’s learning his lesson.” Louis smiled. “Nah, he might be teaching me things my mum doesn’t exactly approve of, but nothing bad.”

“Well, you can always call me if you need any help, or advice.”

“Thanks, Nana.”

Louis said his goodbyes to his grandmother, and she left for home. He found his mother and approached her.

“Mum, Nana told me to tell you goodbye. Said it’s getting late for her.”

Jay looked at her watch. “Hm, yeah. Well, I appreciate you coming, darling. But you can head home and get to Harry’s party, if you like.”

“Really?” Louis asked, brightening. “Thanks.”

“I won’t be home too late.” Jay narrowed her eyes. “You shouldn’t be either. Be good. And responsible.”

“Yes, Mum.”

-

Niall snorted awake as Louis entered his bedroom.

“How was the reunion?” Niall asked, sounding rather disinterested.

“Fairly painless. But that journey back from Venus was exhausting. How can something so quick be so tiring?” Louis sighed. “I think I’m gonna have a bath.”

“You can’t leave your double running around the place. You need to get over to Harry’s and make sure other-Louis hasn’t got himself into any trouble.”

“Ugh, of course. Okay.” Louis zapped himself into the same outfit he had dressed his double in. “See you later.”

He transferred himself into the bushes outside Harry’s, ducking quickly when he saw his double standing by the door with…  _ Liam? _

“It’ll be so funny!” Liam said. “Just literally pull your trousers down and press your arse against the window. Mooning always spices up a party.”

“Absolutely,” Louis’ double replied.

“Fuck,” Louis whispered. Niall was right. His double had got into trouble.

“I’ll wait here,” Liam said. “Go!”

Louis had to act quickly. There was no plausible way to get his double back or stop him, so he ran inside. The living room was heaving - props to Harry - and Louis knew he needed to get to Harry quickly. By the time Louis found him, the whole room was laughing and screeching. Everybody apart from Harry.

“I can’t believe Louis did that,” he heard Harry say to Zayn. “I didn’t think he was the type.”

“I’m right here!” Louis said quickly. “That wasn’t me!”

“Oh!” Harry said, laughing in relief. “If it wasn’t you, who just pressed their arse against my window?”

“Um… must’ve been Liam. I can’t see him anywhere.”

“Haha! Hey, everybody! That wasn’t Louis. It was Liam!”

Liam walked through the front door just as everyone erupted in laughter.

“Nice arse, Liam!” someone yelled.

“What?” Liam said incredulously. “It was Louis.”

“I’ve been here the whole time,” Louis said, rolling his eyes.

“But I just saw you outside. What the hell?”

“Listen,” Zayn said. “If you need to borrow a razor, just let me know.”

Louis felt himself blush, even though he knew his bum was smooth. From Liam’s blushes, maybe his wasn’t.

“Be right back,” Louis said to Harry. “Just need a bit of air.”

Louis headed outside and found his double sitting in a bush, eating a leaf. It was a bit freaky to come face to face with himself, especially behaving so… off.

“What are you up to?” Louis scoffed. “Come here. You’re history.”

Louis crashed into his double and suddenly, they were a singular unit once again.

-

“Thanks for coming,” Harry said with a grin. “And sorry I thought you’d moon everyone.”

“It’s alright,” Louis replied with a chuckle. “This place is a mess.”

“Yeah, well. Thanks for staying to help me clear up, too.”

Louis stilled, propping his chin on the top of the broom handle.

“So, when can I take you out for your birthday?” Louis took a step closer to Harry. “Just the two of us this time.”

“Well,” Harry started, pausing to pull something from Louis’ hair. “Um… twig.”

“Thanks,” Louis muttered.

“How’s Sunday?” Harry asked. “Hey! How about you come round here and I make us a Sunday roast?”

_ “I’m  _ supposed to be treating  _ you!” _ Louis rolled his eyes.

“So, what? We should go to yours and you can cook?”

“Um… not a good idea.” Louis chewed his lip. “Not with my mum around, added to the fact that I’m not the best cook.”

_ Not to mention the talking cat and the cauldrons, _ Louis mentally added.

“Look, being with you’s enough.” Harry paused to ride out a blush. “I’d really enjoy cooking for you. Honest.”

-

“I’m not gonna get all fatherly on you now, but-”

“Oh my God. Niall. Please.”

“Just… take protection with you.” Niall stared at him sternly. “Be responsible.”

“Thank you, cat. I’ll make sure to take a bib to protect my nice clothes from gravy spillage.”

“I just care.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s sweet. But I don’t need sex advice from a convicted criminal slash house pet.”

Niall growled under his breath. “All I ever do is try and help you and you throw it back in my face.”

“Yeah, yeah. Alright. Calm it down.”

Niall jumped down from the bed and got up on the desk, where Louis was looking in a mirror and applying tinted moisturiser. Niall stood with his back to Louis, and a second later Louis cried out.

“Ew, Niall!” he whined. “Did you have to resort to chemical warfare? Ugh. Did your farts smell as bad when you were human?”

“Nope.” Niall jumped down and headed for the door. “Cat privilege.”

Louis stood up and slammed the door behind him.

-

Louis pulled the sleeves of his soft, red jumper over his hands. He would never tell anyone, but this was his date jumper. It never came out of the drawer unless he was going out with a guy, and he knew it suited him well. From the way Harry kept staring, he agreed.

“It smells incredible in here,” Louis said, leaning on the kitchen island. “I bet you’re a great cook.”

“I’m alright.” Harry smirked. “My roast potatoes are the best thing in the world, though.”

Louis inhaled sharply. “Oh, now. I don’t know about that. My mum’s are pretty good.”

Harry laughed. “Maybe me and your mum should have a potato-off.”

“I don’t think you’re ready for that sort of defeat.”

“Oh!” Harry grinned. “Fighting talk on behalf of Mummy.”

“Absolutely.”

“Mm, okay. I’ll forgive you.” Harry threw a tea towel over his shoulder and picked up his glass of wine. “Blood’s thicker than water, and all that.”

“You know what’s thicker than both?” Louis smirked. “Gravy.”

Harry nodded. “Very true.”

They just sort of smiled at each other, before Harry put his glass down and busied himself with the vegetables. Louis watched him work, having already offered help and getting rebuffed. They settled into a comfortable silence, sharing the odd glance or smile every now and then. When Harry started to dish up the dinner, Louis set the table and sat in a chair.

“Now.” Harry looked at Louis pointedly as he placed a plate in front of him. “I want your honest, brutal opinion.”

“Aw, don’t worry. I’m sure it’s just as awful as I’m expecting.”

It was delightful. Louis would never say, but it might have been even better than his mum’s. The potatoes were fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, the chicken was tender and juicy and the Yorkshire puddings were perfect. They may have only gone on a couple of dates, but Louis might be ready to marry this man.

He thought better of saying that, instead settling for voicing his approval with yummy noises.

“That was amazing,” he said after his last bite, slumping back in his chair and cradling his stomach. “Even the vegetables tasted great.”

Harry didn’t say anything, finishing off his own meal with a pleased grin on his face. After he finished, he stood up to clear the plates.

“Let me do that.”

“No,” Harry insisted with a giggle. “You’re my guest.”

“You’re so annoying.”

Harry raised a cheeky eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah. Hey, I’m sorry I don’t have anything for dessert.”

“Ah, that’s okay.” Louis hesitated before pointing at Harry’s fridge. “Um, don’t you remember? I brought a gateau round.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did! It’s in the fridge.”

“Louis…”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Just check.”

Harry rolled his eyes right back at Louis and walked over to the fridge. Louis watched closely as Harry pulled the door open and his eyes widened in surprise.

“I  _ swear _ I don’t remember you bringing that in.”

Louis just shrugged. They did the washing up together - Harry relented and let Louis dry all the plates - before eating a slice of gateau each and sitting close together on the sofa to watch a film.

Once it was time for Louis to leave, he gave Harry a hug goodbye and the thought crossed his mind to kiss him, but he resisted. He wasn’t too sure how slow Harry wanted to take things, so he thought this kind of thing was best left up to him. Louis went home, not being able to stop thinking about Harry.

-

“I just knew you two would make a good couple,” Zayn whispered to Louis. 

“We’re not… a couple,” Louis said uncertainly. “We’ve just been on a few dates, that’s all.”

“Are you spending Valentine’s Day together?”

“I dunno. Isn’t it on a weekday? We might have too much work.”

You know full well it’s Sunday. If you don’t set up a date with him, I’ll do it for you.”

“I can arrange my own dates, thank you very much.”

Zayn nudged Louis and nodded towards the door of the library. “He’s just walked in. Go!”

Louis sighed as he stood up and approached Harry, who was settling down at a table.

“Hi,” Louis whispered.

“Hey, Lou.”

“Zayn’s bullied me into coming over and asking you out for Valentine’s Day.”

Harry folded his arms, trying his best to hide a smirk.

“Oh, so you don’t  _ want _ to go out with me? Don’t wanna spend Valentine’s with me?”

Louis sighed loudly. “Actually… yes. I do.”

“Okay,” Harry said simply. “What do you want to do? I think I’m gonna have a lot of work to do, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“I’d suggest dinner, but I think most places will be booked up.”

“I’m cool with a cinema trip and a coffee afterwards,” Harry suggested, shrugging.

“Perfect. I’ll check film times and let you know.” Louis smiled. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Louis retreated and smiled smugly at Zayn.

“Happy?”

“Absolutely.”

-

As it happened, the two of them went out for a quick drink on Friday night. Harry walked Louis home and, not really wanting their date to end just yet, Louis invited him inside.

“Well, I think it’s great you’re learning the guitar,” Louis said to Harry as they walked inside and collapsed onto the sofa. “If you ever need anyone to practice at…”

Harry laughed. “Thanks. Because I think my housemates are getting sick to death of hearing me play.”

“I bet you’re great,” Louis said, smiling and gazing at Harry. He didn’t know what it was, but Louis felt some sort of tension between them tonight, and not the bad or awkward kind. He dared to slide a little closer. “You know, the guitar is really sexy.”

“Yeah?” Harry said quietly. 

“Yeah.”

They both started to lean in, slow and tentative. Louis’ heart started to thump. This was it.

“Woah!” Harry said suddenly as a spark of electricity lit up the space between them. They jumped apart. “What was that?”

“I dunno. Must have been static, or something,” Louis replied, knowing full well it wasn’t.

Harry rolled his eyes with a nervous grin. “Um, where were we?”

They began to lean in again. Louis’ eyes fluttered closed as their mouths drew ever closer, about to meet when Niall jumped on Louis’ back.

“What the fuck?” Louis exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing Niall by the scruff. “What are you doing?”

“Is he okay?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Um… maybe he’s spooked by the static?” Louis shook his head. “I’ll go talk to- I mean feed him.”

Louis fumed as he carried Niall off into the kitchen.

“I can’t believe you were spying on me.”

“It’s a good thing I was!” Niall replied, seeming a little harassed. “You can’t kiss him.”

“I can do what I bloody well want to.”

“Lou, did your mum not tell you?”

Louis cocked an eyebrow, starting to feel worried. “Tell me what?”

“Look, the sparks were a warning. You shouldn’t hear it from the cat, but ask your mum. And you absolutely can’t kiss Harry in the meantime.”

“Why should I believe you?”

Niall fixed him with a look. “You know, deep down, that I only want the best for you. You know I’m being sincere.”

Louis stared at him for a second before sighing, relenting. “Alright. But if you’re playing a prank or something, I’m gonna be so mad, you won’t even feel my foot on your arse until you land on Mars.”

“Ouch.”

Louis headed back into the living room, his heart full of regret when he saw Harry’s hopeful face.

“Sorry about Niall. Um, I think maybe there were some fireworks while we were out or something, but he’s really spooked. It’s probably best you go, you know, I think he needs a quiet house.”

“Alright. Aw, poor thing.” Harry smiled broadly. “If I don’t see you around campus tomorrow, I’ll see you for our date on Sunday?”

“Absolutely,” Louis said with his thumbs up. He opened the door to let Harry out, stroking his arm. “See you then.”

It felt mean, but he slammed the door shut in case Harry tried to move in. He groaned loudly, before walking over to the sofa and throwing himself down on it. Niall jumped up, turning in circles on Louis’ back until he finally settled.

“Don’t worry, Louis. I’m sure your mum will sort it all out with you.”

“Sort all what out?” Louis grumbled into the sofa cushion. 

As if by magic, Jay arrived home. She took her coat off before noticing her son in distress.

“What’s the matter, darling?”

Louis leapt up, sending Niall onto the floor with a thud. 

“What’s the matter?!” he replied, feeling slightly hysterical. “The cat is telling me I can’t kiss Harry, and he won’t tell me why!”

“Ah.” Jay glanced at Niall and led Louis over to the sofa. “I didn’t realise the two of you were quite there.”

“Well, we are.”

“Louis, if a witch kisses a mortal… the first mortal they kiss… well, the mortal turns into a frog.”

“A frog?” Louis scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

“I’m afraid it’s true,” Jay said with a frown. “It’s one of those silly things that has stuck around, thanks to the pockets of anti-mortal sentiments in the other realm.”

“So, basically, I can never kiss Harry.” Louis growled again. “I hate being a witch!”

Jay took a deep breath. “So, here’s the thing. Since you’re half mortal, the spell may or may not kick in. There’s no way to tell.”

“Oh! Well. That makes it much better!” Louis scoffed. “So am I expected to just never kiss him or am I expected to chance it?”

“Your choice, honey.”

-

Louis barely slept. He and Harry were getting on so well, and he’d had such high hopes for the two of them. It had all come crashing down around him. He thought about it all night and by morning, he had a question for his mum.

“Tell me,” he started as he poured himself a cup of tea. “Did my dad turn into a frog when you kissed him, then?”

Jay lifted her own cup of tea towards her lips as she smiled. “Well. Your father was not the first mortal I kissed.”

“Oh  _ really?” _ Louis said, grinning. “I see.”

“When I was a teenager, I loved coming to the mortal realm. Probably because it was so frowned upon.”

“Sounds like you. No wonder you ended up living in this realm.”

He glumly picked Harry up for their cinema trip, trying to at least appear perky as they exchanged Valentine’s cards.

“Thanks, Harry.” He smiled. “I’ll treasure this.”

“Me, too,” Harry said as he clutched the fairly plain card Louis had bought him. “Let’s go.”

They headed to the cinema, and as soon as they took their seats Louis knew he was going to have some trouble. Harry shuffled close until their thighs were touching, and he turned to Louis with a huge smile.

“I’m so glad we’re doing this,” he said. “You look really good, by the way.”

Louis subtly leaned away, leaning against the wall behind him. “Aw, thanks. So do you. Hey, the trailers are starting.”

It was much the same for the duration of the film. Louis barely looked at Harry, being too nervous to turn his head and enable Harry to move in. Instead, he pretending to fix all of his attention on the film. By the time they left the cinema and headed to the cafe, Harry seemed a little downtrodden.

“You seem a little distracted tonight,” Harry said. “Is it your cat? Is he okay?”

“Um… yeah. I heard some fireworks, so…”

“Oh? I didn’t hear anything.”

“I have really great hearing,” Louis said. “Where are our coffees? I’m glad Liam isn’t working.”

Harry smiled tentatively and shuffled his chair around, closer to Louis. Louis’ palms started to prickle with sweat.

“Yeah. I’d feel kind of nervous if he was watching us.”

“Mm,” Louis agreed, eyes widening as he saw Harry start to lean in. That man did  _ not _ give up. As he drew closer, Louis turned his head. “I’m so thirsty!”

The hurt, disappointed expression on Harry’s face nearly broke Louis’ heart.  _ It’s for the best, _ Louis told himself.  _ It really is for the best. _

Harry seemed to admit defeat after that. The air between them had become cold, and they made small talk as they drank their coffee. Harry walked Louis home, and before Louis could get inside, Harry grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Um, Lou?”

Louis slowly turned around. “Yup?”

“Can we talk?”

“About what?” Louis asked. “Let’s just… go inside.”

Louis led Harry inside, checking for any hidden cats before letting Harry speak.

“Louis,” Harry said with a sigh. “Has something changed between us?”

“What makes you say that?” Louis asked nonchalantly.

“I dunno. I mean… well, our last two or three days I’ve felt as if you’ve wanted to kiss me. But tonight, I’ve felt a bit like you don’t.”

Louis felt horrible. It was so unfair. For Harry, for Louis. Louis sighed, trying to pluck words from his brain.

“I… I just…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Hey,” Harry said softly, reaching out to brush his fingers over Louis’ elbow. “It’s okay. If it’s what you want, we can just be friends.”

It absolutely crushed Louis, but it was the right thing to do. “I think that would be the best thing for both of us.”

Harry sighed silently, trying his best to put on a smile.

“Okay. Friends it is.” He rolled his eyes. “I really wanted to kiss you, you know.”

“I know, Harry. Me…” Louis sighed. “Me too.”

Harry hesitated for a second, before turning and reaching for the front door handle. Without even thinking about it, Louis grabbed his hand, yanked him back, threw caution to the wind and pressed his lips against Harry’s.

“Oh, wow,” Harry murmured as they pulled apart.

“Thank God! You’re still here.”

Harry smirked, parting his lips to form a response but all of a sudden a look of surprise washed over his face, which began to turn green as his entire body shriveled up and shrunk, until Harry was gone and a particularly large frog slapped to the ground in his place.

“No, no, no!” Louis whined, panic completely overtaking his entire being. “Fuck!”

He scooped poor Harry up in his hands and ran to the kitchen to find his mum. She was nowhere to be seen, so he yelled and yelled until she came down from her bath.

“Louis, what in all the realm is the matter?”

“I turned Harry! Into a frog!” Louis screeched. “Mum, he’s a  _ frog!” _

“Sweetheart, don’t panic. There’s still hope for him.”

“Hope? He’s a frog!”

“Now, calm down,” Jay said sternly. “I need you in your right mind.  _ Harry _ needs you in your right mind.”

“Sorry, sorry. Go on.”

“Now, there’s something called the True Love Clause. It’s a test you must take to determine whether it’s true love between you. If it’s true love, Harry will turn back into a human.”

“True love?” Louis frowned. “Mum, we’ve only gone on a few dates.”

“That’s alright. I’ll talk you through it.”

“So, what if it isn’t true love?”

Jay paused for a second. “You’ll be turned into a frog.”

-

“I really like him,” Louis said to his mother as they arrived in the other realm. “He’s sweet and funny, and I love spending time with him. But how can it be true love? I’m not even in love with him. Do they really expect nobody to kiss until they’re in love?”

“It’s complicated as a concept. You don’t have to be in love with him for it to be true love.” Jay shrugged. “I suppose it’s about your bond, your spark being strong enough for the potential for true love.”

“I learn more and more every day that the magical community is living in the dark ages.” Louis sighed. “So, what now?”

“Right. We need to take a left down here, head past the Headquarters of Squirmy Things and, just past the National Institute of Death, is the National Institute of Love.”

“I feel like putting those two doors together wasn’t a good idea.”

“Now, you’re about to meet the head of the Witches Council. He’s very tough and strict, not to mention a giant meanie.”

“This is important enough for the head of the Witches Council to be present?”

“No. But he makes it his business to be anywhere that anyone is in distress.”

“Aw. He doesn’t sound so bad.”

Jay rolled her eyes. “It’s because he revels in it.”

“Oh.”

They walked through the door and were met with a very pink lobby. 

“Darling, head over to that desk and fill out the paperwork. Just a formality. Sign the release form, and-”

“A release form?” Louis picked up the papers and found the release form at the back. “Cool, so I won’t be able to sue the Witches Council if I’m mutilated.”

“Very rare,” Jay assured him.

Louis signed the paperwork and immediately the head of the Witches Council popped in with a puff of smoke.

“Mr. Tomlinson, welcome to the Test of True Love. I’m Simon, head of the Witches Council. The test is in three parts, each one more horrifying than the last. Think you can handle it?”

Louis looked at Harry, croaking in Jay’s hand.

“I have to,” Louis said with a sigh.

“Aw,” Simon said, crinkling his nose at Jay. “I love the fright in their eyes. There’s nothing like it.”

Jay rolled her eyes, and Louis took a deep breath.

“Okay, where do I start?”

“Door number one.” Simon pointed over to a door. “Good luck.”

Simon began to cackle as Louis entered the room. As soon as he closed the door behind him, the sound disappeared and he could hear applause, muffled and coming from a distance. He walked towards the sound, and emerged onto a television set that looked oddly familiar. 

“Let’s welcome Louis from Doncaster to the show!”

The applause became louder and Louis walked forwards. He looked to his right at the host who had introduced him.

“Cilla Black?!”

It was then he realised he was on the set of 80s game show, Blind Date. He looked at Cilla Black again in disbelief. Was it really her? Was Cilla Black a witch? Was this all some kind of breakdown-induced fever dream?

“Hiya, Louis,” Cilla said in her trademark embellished Liverpool accent. “Are you ready to meet your three Harrys?”

_ “Three  _ Harrys?” Louis smirked and sat on his stool. “Nice.”

“Harrys, say hello to Louis.”

“Hello!”

“Hiya.”

“Hey.”

The three identical voices rang out from behind the screen. Louis turned to Cilla.

“So, am I supposed to decide which one I wanna go on a date with, or what?” Louis shrugged. “If they’re all Harry, I wanna go out with all of them.”

“One of these men is your real Harry, the other two are imitations.” Cilla handed him a stack of prompt cards. “You have to find out which is the real Harry.”

“With pre-determined questions?” Louis asked as he looked at the cards. “Doesn’t seem fair.”

“We haven’t got all day.”

“Sorry. Okay.” Louis read the first card. “Harry number two. If you could get any breed of puppy, what would you choose?”

“A great dane! You know what I always say. The bigger the better. Eh?”

Louis got the impression Harry Number Two was winking, and he frowned to himself. Probably not his Harry.

“Harry number three? Same question.”

“Um, well. I’d probably adopt from a shelter, rather than buy a puppy. I wouldn’t mind the breed, as long as their personality was a good fit.”

“That’s sweet!” Louis said, switching the card in his hands. “Alright. To all the Harrys: what is your favourite part of nature? Harry number two.”

“The depths of winter, when everything’s dead.”

“Right.” Louis turned to raise his eyebrows at Cilla. “These questions aren’t helpful.”

“You’ve not been able to eliminate a single one?”

“I mean, it’s not two.”

“Carry on, then.”

“Okay, fine. Harry number one, what about you?”

“I do love nature, but I like to think there’s maybe more. I love the supernatural. I’m not some conspiracy theorist, or anything, but the whole thing fascinates me and sometimes I wonder if there is a hidden world of some sort.” Harry Number One let out a little laugh. “Sorry. That probably didn’t really answer your question.”

“That’s him. Number one.”

“Louis, you have three more questions. Don’t you want to make sure?”

“Definitely number one. My Harry is fascinated by the supernatural.”

A dinging rang out around the studio to indicate Louis had given the correct answer. Cilla smiled at him.

“Well done, chuck. Now, get out.”

“Wait, don’t I get my Harry?”

“You’ve got two more tests to take!” Cilla frowned at him. “He won’t turn back from a frog that easily.”

Louis said goodbye to Cilla and made his way out of room one. The lobby was filled with canned applause, and Jay was waiting to give him a hug.

“Well done, Lou.”

“Yeah,” Simon said, sounding a bit bored. “Well, look. You passed the test of friendship. You know him well enough to be able to pick him out of a line up. Friendship is an important foundation on which to build a relationship.”

Simon turned his back for a second, and Louis leaned into Jay.

“Mum, I only knew the deciding fact because I turned myself into a fly to spy on Harry. Will that go against me?”

“Oh, darling. They don’t care how you know the information. The important thing is that you knew it.” Jay smiled. “You cared enough to listen and retain the information.”

Louis smiled, but he didn’t feel reassured. He retained that information because it directly correlated to himself. He just hoped Simon didn’t find out.

“Come on,” Simon said, sighing impatiently. “Room number two.”

Louis practically ran into room number two. Despite his worries, he was riding high on passing part one, and quickly too. He found himself somewhere hot and sunny, by a pool. Nothing seemed to be happening, so he took a seat on a sun lounger and enjoyed the opportunity to get a tan in February. He realised he was now dressed in just swimming trunks and sunglasses. Maybe that form he signed said they could dress him as scantily as they wanted.

Someone was splashing about in the pool and, when they emerged up the ladder, Louis took a double take.

“Hi.”

“Oh my God!” Louis sat up abruptly. “Channing Tatum?”

“How’s it going?” Channing asked. “Mind if I sit here?”

Louis gestured to the lounger next to him. “Be my guest.”

Channing stretched his body and, as much as Louis tried to avert his eyes, he couldn’t help but glance sideways at him. 

“So, are you here to take the test?”

“Yeah.” Louis nodded. “Is it a test of patience or something? I wish they’d hurry.”

“Just relax, it could be a while.” Channing turned his body towards Louis. “If you don’t mind me saying, you look a bit tense.”

Louis shrugged. “I mean, it’s Valentine’s Day and I’m taking the True Love test.”

“Fair point,” Channing said with a laugh. “I’m sure things will work out for you.”

“Yeah. I mean, there’s something to be said about having a tongue that’s half the length of your body.”

Channing smirked and looked Louis up and down. “You’ve got a long tongue, huh?”

Louis rolled his eyes and grinned. “I was talking about my possible future life as a frog.”

“Oh.” Channing looked down at the ground and smiled. “My bad.”

“Um…” Louis fixed his gaze on the pool. “So, when’s this bloody test gonna start?”

“Lou,” Channing said. Funny. Louis didn’t remember telling him his name. “Look, you’re so tense, that’s not gonna do you any good when the test starts. Come sit over here, I’ll give your shoulders a rub.”

Channing sat up and opened his legs, creating a space for Louis to sit. Louis stared at the space between Channing’s meaty thighs, in front of an almost disturbingly large bulge, and Louis jumped to his feet. Channing smiled, opening his legs a little wider to accommodate Louis. 

“No,” Louis said. “I can’t sit between your legs and have you rub me down when Harry’s a bloody frog.”

“Who’s Harry?”

Louis blinked. “You’re trying to distract me. Aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean!” Channing insisted. “Come on. Sit with me.”

“No!”

That same bell rang out to indicate Louis had passed the test. He gasped.

“Well, you passed the test.” Channing shrugged. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks!”

Channing held his arms out. “How about a hug to celebrate?”

Louis rolled his eyes as he headed back towards the door. “Oh, please.”

He emerged back into the lobby to another round of applause. Jay embraced him once again.

“Well done!”

Simon folded his arms and smiled, a forced expression that bared his scarily white teeth.

“You passed the test of fidelity. Temptation will always be present to test a relationship.”

Louis sighed heavily. “If I can say no to a barely-dressed massage from a wet Channing Tatum, I can do anything. Bring on door three.”

“Alright, slow down,” Simon said with a roll of his eyes. “The last test is by far the most dangerous and terrifying. You might die, and even if you don’t, you’ll almost definitely be turning into a frog. So-”

“Yeah, alright. Whatever.”

“Louis,” Jay scolded. “Have some respect.”

Louis openly rolled his eyes as he made his way to door three. He entered the room, which was pitch black and strangely toasty.

“Hello?” he called out.

“Lou?”

“Harry?” Louis called in surprise. “Where are you?”

“I’m not sure.”

Suddenly, the entire place erupted in flames, and Louis could see that he and Harry were on either end of a very rickety looking bridge. Louis had a terrible feeling.

“Right,” he said. “I suppose I have to get to you.”

“I guess so,” Harry replied.

“Okay,” Louis said, rubbing his palms together as he looked around. “Let’s work this out. Any pathways near you? Maybe I can get through this with logic and being good at navigating.”

“I don’t think so,” Harry said, looking around. “And I don’t think that’s the point of the test.”

“Yeah, fine.” Louis took a deep breath and sighed. “Here I come.”

Louis crept towards the bridge. The wood was broken and warped, the fire licking at the underside ominously.

“Fuck,” Louis muttered under his breath as he grasped the rope handrail and stepped onto the bridge. “Hot!”

“Lou,” Harry called. “Come on. It’s not worth it! Please don’t risk your life, not for me. Being a frog isn’t so bad.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m getting to you.” Louis gritted his teeth and hopped forwards a few more steps. “Although I might need a lot of burn salve for my lower body.”

He stepped onto the next plank, but as soon as he put his weight on it, it crumbled and collapsed. He just about managed to pull his foot back and rebalance.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Maybe Harry was right. And Simon. This was so dangerous. Was it worth it? Was it better to be a frog than to not be at all? He looked up and saw Harry watching with immense worry. Louis sighed. He absolutely couldn’t do it to Harry.

He took a few steps backwards. If he took a running leap, he would be able to jump right over the gap in the bridge. He hoped. Anyway, surely the Witches Council wouldn’t  _ actually _ let him die?

He found the courage to take a run up, clenching his eyes shut as he jumped. He opened his eyes when he felt his feet touch the surface, just in time to realise he hadn’t quite regained his balance.

Luckily for Louis, Harry reached out to grab his hand. He pulled Louis towards him, and they both stepped onto the rocky ground beyond the bridge.

“Wow. Thanks, Harry.” Louis tilted his head up to kiss Harry, but Harry faded away. “Oh, great.”

Louis trudged towards a lone door that he assumed was the exit. Why did Harry disappear? Was it because Harry had to help Louis to the other side? Was that a fail, since he didn’t make it on his own?

He walked through the door and he was back in the lobby. There was no canned applause, and for a frightful moment he was sure he failed. That was, until his mother conjured a shower of balloons.

“Congratulations, darling!”

“I passed?” Louis asked.

“You passed,” Simon confirmed with a sigh. “I was really looking forward to another adolescent turning into a frog. Never mind. You passed the test of faith. You put yourself and your own safety aside for the sake of your beau. Moreover, you worked together for a common goal.”

“Yes!” Louis cheered. He looked at his mother, before seeing Harry croaking in her hand. “Wait, how come Harry’s still a frog?”

“The last part of the True Love test, of course.” Jay held Harry out to Louis. “You have to return to the location of the kiss and kiss him again.”

“As a frog?” Louis scoffed. “I have to kiss a frog?”

“Don’t be shallow! He’s still Harry.”

“Whatever. Let’s go.”

Louis was relieved to be back home, and he zapped some salve onto his feet and ankles as they made their way back to the front door. Jay made herself scarce as Louis held Harry in front of his face and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” Louis whispered. “This is totally not gross.”

He kissed the frog on the lips, wiping his mouth with his free hand before the frog started to erupt and grow, and suddenly Harry was standing before him.

“Wow,” Harry said. 

“I know,” Louis said, sighing in relief. It had been a long, exhausting day. “That was awesome.”

Harry rolled his eyes fondly. “That’s why I’ve been trying to kiss you. Too bad you just wanna be friends.”

“Oh, no, no. I’ve changed my mind.”

“Yeah?” Harry asked quietly, soft grin on his face. “And who says I’m willing you let you take it back?”

Louis leaned in and kissed Harry again. It was perfect. It wasn’t rushed or urgent this time, and there was no risk of either of them turning into an amphibian. When they pulled away, Harry rolled his eyes again.

“Fine. You win.”

-

There was a weird sort of atmosphere whenever Louis was with Harry, but he reckoned it was probably one sided. Harry seemed a bit tired and ever so slightly confused, which Louis put down to the whole turning into a frog thing. Louis was exhausted, too. Sometimes, he felt as if he couldn’t be bothered with this whole witch thing.

One good development was the introduction of kissing into his and Harry’s relationship. They kissed when they met up after class, they kissed when they watched a film at Harry’s, they kissed in the cafe. The last one had the obvious added bonus of being in front of Liam.

“Get a room,” Liam said, looking disgusted as he placed their coffees down on the table. “Harry, if you ever want to actually get somewhere in life, give me a call?”

Louis gave him a dark look as he walked away before turning to Harry.

“God,” he scoffed. “What was that supposed to mean?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Harry rolled his eyes. “Liam’s dad is a record executive.”

“No way,” Louis replied. “Ugh.”

“Don’t worry, he won’t get the better of me.” Harry leaned over and kissed Louis on the cheek. “I’d rather be broke as fuck and be with you than be with that idiot and be a famous rock star.”

Louis fixed him with an unimpressed look. “He can give you everything you want.”

“Liam’s a freak!” Harry said, not quietly. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Aw.” Louis sighed loudly. “I know.”

Harry smiled sweetly. “Wanna come over mine tomorrow night?”

“I mean, I do want to. But I promised Zayn I’d go with him to some party. And since I’ve let him down twice because I’ve spent time with you instead…”

“Absolutely go to the party.”

“Well, why don’t you come? We can go for a bit, and then we can dip out. You know what Zayn’s like once he’s had a drink.”

-

Zayn walked into the party, looking nervous. Louis patted him on the back.

“Mate, it’s gonna be fine.”

Louis’ other hand was clutched in Harry’s. Now that they were in uni, childish gossip and the like didn’t exactly faze Louis, but the two of them walking in, hand in hand, was still a bit of a thing. Louis was still classed as a new boy, and he got the impression that Harry had a few admirers.

He didn’t let the staring distract him. They headed straight for the garden, which was apparently where the drinks were being kept. It made more sense than in the kitchen, given that it was below freezing outside. Still, it was the least crowded place and so Louis and Harry huddled together for warmth as they drank very cold beer.

“Hopefully nobody will moon at this party,” Harry said, laughing. “I really didn’t need to see Liam’s bum.”

“Let’s not talk about Liam’s bum,” Louis said quickly. “How’s the guitar going?”

“Yeah, great! I’m finding it so much fun, too. I reckon I might write songs, you know.”

“Yeah?” Louis smiled. “Good with words?”

“Maybe on paper, yeah.” Harry grinned. “But I’d like to have the knowledge to be able to write the music, too.”

“Ah. You’ll get there. I have faith in you.”

“Thanks, love.” Harry kissed Louis on the head. “How are your practical classes coming?”

“Not bad. We’re putting together a showcase. It’s in its early stages at the moment, but hopefully it’ll be lots of fun once it kicks off.” Louis paused and looked at up Harry. “The only problem is that Liam’s in that class, so I might end up killing him.”

Harry cackled. “No! You’ll get thrown out. I can’t have that.”

“I suppose it’s all life experience, isn’t it? When we get jobs and live in the real world, we’ll all have to work with people we don’t like, blah blah blah.”

“You just have to remember that Liam wants… well,  _ needs _ a good grade, too.”

“True.” Louis sighed noisily. “Ah, I don’t wanna think about it.”

They decided to go back inside, where it was warm. The heat of too many bodies pressed together was a welcome relief, now, whereas when they had arrived it felt suffocating. They found a corner to settle in, neither of them being particularly interested in dancing or mingling. They chatted for a bit before they found themselves lazily kissing, pressing closer and closer into the corner before eventually being disturbed by Zayn.

“Let’s go,” Zayn said hurriedly.

“What? What’s happened?”

“I was talking to someone and I misunderstood something he said and I said something really fucking dumb and I need to leave.”

Louis looked at Harry and shrugged. “Come on. Let’s go kiss at yours instead.”

-

As it happened, the three of them ended up in the twenty-four hour diner drinking milkshakes, Louis and Harry sharing an Oreo one. Harry and Zayn were arguing about some Marvel thing and Louis busied himself with Facebook, leaning his weight into Harry. He was surprised to receive a text from his mum just as he was about to lock his phone and rejoin reality.

_ ‘Your Aunt Delilah is coming for a visit. Can you be around at least a little bit this weekend?’ _

Louis frowned and checked the time. 3.30am.

_ ‘What are you doing awake??!’ _ he typed, before adding,  _ ‘Yeah, I’ll make an effort to be home. Don’t remember much about Delilah.x’ _

_ ‘Couldn’t sleep. Delilah never came round much when you were young, she was always very busy in the other realm plus I couldn’t trust her around you and the girls x’ _

Louis didn’t know what she meant by that, but didn’t care enough to ask. He put his phone in his pocket, linked his arm into Harry’s and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Z, you’re off your rocker. She _ tried  _ to move over to let him share the door, but the weight of them both tipped it over.” Harry shook his head. “I hate it when people say she should’ve shared it.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Something tells me you guys are no longer talking about Marvel.”

“Yeah, Harry.” Zayn rolled his eyes. “But couldn’t she have got off and let him lay on it for a while? She let him float there, in the North Atlantic, turning into a human ice pole.”

“Well,” Louis interjected. “How about the fact she was all like, ‘I’ll never let go!’ but then she literally let go one second later.”

Zayn and Harry gave him the exact same incredulous look.

“Are you stupid?” Zayn asked.

“Lou, no.” Harry shook his head. “She didn’t mean  _ literally. _ He tells her she’s gonna go on to live her life, have lots of babies, die an old lady, warm in her bed. Then says, ‘never let go of that promise’. That’s what she’s referring to. And she didn’t. She lived, and loved, and died  _ old.  _ And she never let go of the memory of him, either.”

Harry’s eyes were getting a bit teary, and Louis widened his eyes.

“Alright, darling. It’s okay. It’s fiction.”

Harry shot him a look. “So? Anyway, that’s what gets me about Titanic. You have fiction mingled with real life events. Jack and Rose may not have been real, but the wider story really happened.”

Louis draped an arm around Harry’s shoulders and pulled him close for a cuddle.

-

Louis went out with Harry on Saturday night after a long day of studying, and he had one wicked hangover on Sunday morning. He forced himself out of bed, though, because Aunt Delilah was coming for lunch.

“Do we have any bacon?” Louis asked as he came down into the kitchen. “I’m starving.”

“Louis, lunch is in just over an hour. No bacon.”

“But Mum! I’m hungover.”

“And whose fault is that?” Jay bit back. “Just… take a shower, please.”

Louis pouted. “I’m hungry.”

Jay zapped a cereal bar into Louis’ hand. “Eat that and be quiet.”

“Fine.” 

Louis rolled his eyes and skulked off to have a shower. He had to admit, he felt better afterwards, and he got dressed and headed downstairs to help his mum with lunch.

“So, what are we having?”

“Unicorn steak. Matured for a decade, so it’s really tender.”

“Hm.” Louis raised his eyebrows. “I’m getting to the point where nothing surprises me.”

“You’ll like unicorn.” Jay smiled. “It’s your aunt Delilah’s favourite.”

“Well, I-”

Louis was cut off when, in a big puff of smoke, a woman dressed in a multicoloured, skintight bodysuit popped into the kitchen.

“Woah.”

“Delilah,” Jay said with a sigh. “It’s polite to knock before you pop in.”

“Sorry,” Delilah replied, not sounding in the least bit sorry. “I didn’t want to be late.”

“Well, you’re fifteen minutes early.”

“Never mind.” Delilah waved a hand dismissively. “It gives me chance to chat to my dear nephew.”

Louis smiled awkwardly. “Um, me, I suppose.”

Delilah watched Jay head back to continue making lunch before speaking.

“How is the magic life treating you?” Delilah glanced over at Jay. “Is my sister teaching you well?”

Louis smiled with a slight roll of the eyes. “Very well, yes. She’s very encouraging.”

“It can’t be easy, though. Being eighteen and attending university, all the while still living under your mother’s roof.”

“It’s okay,” Louis replied. “And anyway, I have to study for my witch's’ licence with her.”

Delilah cocked an eyebrow. “It doesn’t have to be with her. Johannah, darling? What’s for lunch?”

“What do  _ you _ think?”

Delilah laughed lightly. “Your mother makes the best unicorn steaks, Louis.”

“I’ve not tried it yet, but if her amazing jacket potatoes are anything to go by, I’m happy to believe you.”

Louis smiled over at his mother, who shot him a deathly look. He didn’t understand. What was wrong with being good at jacket potatoes?

“Why on earth do you insist on making things the mortal way?” Delilah groaned audibly. “It has a certain kitsch charm, I agree, but what a waste of time.”

“D, I’m trying to set a good example for my son. Some of us don’t want our kids turning into spoilt, witchy little brats.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you live in the mortal realm, I suppose.” Delilah twirled a curl around her finger. “I despise doing things the mortal way when I can just use my finger.”

Louis looked over at his mum, who seemed to be quietly fuming.

“Well, I’m used to it,” Louis said, trying to placate the growing tension. “I like doing things the mortal way. I just feel like I’d get really lazy.”

Jay managed to keep her irritation at a simmer as she dished up lunch. Louis cut into his steak and the meat sliced like butter. Literally.

“Wow,” he murmured as he popped his fork into his mouth. Chewing the steak was just as heavenly, the taste juicy and light. “Tastes like… I dunno.”

“Not as potent as horse,” Jay said. “Smoother than cow.”

“Horse?” Louis asked before shaking his head. “Please don’t ever serve me horsemeat.”

“We eat phoenix where I live,” Delilah said. “Tastes like a beautiful autumn morning.”

“I don’t like phoenix,” Jay replied. “Too smoky.”

“I wanna try it!” Louis said. “Where do you live?”

“Anyone for salad?” Jay interjected. “Any dressing?”

Delilah rolled her eyes and turned to Louis.

“I live in the other realm, in a place called the Pleasure Dome. It’s-”

“Louis, how are things going with your showcase?” Jay asked.

Louis narrowed his eyes. For some reason, his mum didn’t want her sister talking about this  _ Pleasure Dome. _ Maybe it was as sordid as it sounded.

“Yeah, fine,” Louis answered, before looking back to Delilah. “Tell me about the Pleasure Dome.”

“It’s a wonderful place where there is no responsibility. Just fun, fun, fun. The life of luxury.”

“It sounds amazing.”

“You should come and visit!” Delilah said, brightening. “You’d love it. It would be a great way to unwind from the stress of university.”

“Can I, Mum?” Louis asked, turning to Jay. “I could go next weekend. My Friday class is off so I’ll have a three-day weekend.”

“Next weekend’s perfect!” Delilah cried.

Jay chewed the inside of her cheek. “Fine.”

-

Zayn and Harry were devastated to be losing Louis for an entire three days, but Louis was pumped. He left for Delilah’s on Thursday evening, arriving at the Pleasure Dome with a thrum of excitement.

“Welcome, darling,” Delilah said. 

“Thanks, Aunt D. Right, what first?”

Delilah laughed. “Slow down, slow down.”

Louis would never have been able to explain the Pleasure Dome. Its main lounge area was fairly small, but it had a strange sort of ambience that made it feel… comforting. Relaxing. Fun. Pleasurable.

“Okay,” Louis said. “At least give me a tour.”

“Sure! So, behind each one of these doors you see, you’ll find a wish fulfilled.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Hm? Whose wish?”

Delilah rolled her eyes with a smile. “This is the other realm, darling, everything is exactly what you want it to be. But… this is my home, and it’s catered to my taste. Now, behind that door is a 24-hour nightclub. The one to the left of it is full of no-calorie desserts. And that one over there is full of hot, single men.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “Oh,  _ really?” _

“Wanna check it out?”

“Um, well… I’d better not. I have a… boyfriend. Sort of.”

Delilah frowned, unimpressed. “Well. There’s no harm in looking.”

“Maybe later.”

“Fine. And this door over here is my particular favourite. The hall of gratuitous praise.”

“Makes sense,” Louis said to himself as Delilah walked towards the door. She opened it, and the doorway was blocked with people who immediately started applauding and yelling praise.  _ You’re wonderful! You’re gorgeous! You’re talented!  _ Louis frowned. “That’s creepy.”

“Ugh.” Delilah grinned widely. “I love it.”

“What else is there?”

“24-hour shopping mall, cinema with every film in existence showing, zoo full of completely domesticated exotic animals. And if none of the rooms take your fancy, there’s plenty more to do. You can get a massage from a very attractive man, or a woman. We could have our own party. Or we could make a film.” Delilah shrugged. “Basically anything you want to do.”

“Sounds cool.” Louis stopped to think. “Well, do you think we could bring my friends here? Harry and Zayn would love it here. We can do a memory spell afterwards.”

“Ah, sorry. There’s only one rule at the Pleasure Dome. No mortals.”

“Oh,” Louis said, disappointed. “Okay.”

“But, how about…” Delilah pointed her finger and, in a puff of smoke, a massage table appeared in front of Louis, along with a mediterranean-looking man, topless and buff. “A massage?”

Louis paused for a second. “Yeah, okay.”

-

Louis emerged from the nightclub room and collapsed on a chaise lounge.  

“Gosh, I’m exhausted.” Louis looked at Delilah, who was being massaged. “Can you zap me to my room?”

“You don’t need to sleep! It’s such a waste of time.” Delilah pointed at him. “There you go. You’re revitalised.”

She was right. The tiredness simply lifted away from his body, his muscles and feet no longer ached and his eyes weren’t heavy.

“Wow,” Louis said. “That’s… I mean, I don’t know what you did, but it can’t be good for my body.”

Delilah rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to drop dead. Don’t you just love not having to sleep, though?”

Louis shrugged. As much as he wanted to enjoy the Pleasure Dome as much as he could while he was here, he sort of loved that feeling of collapsing into a bed at the peak of exhaustion. 

“I suppose,” he responded.

“I do sleep sometimes,” Delilah clarified. “Otherwise I really would mess my body up.”

“She’s no stranger to burning the candle at both ends,” Delilah’s masseur piped up.

“Yes, thank you, Oliver.” Delilah frowned and zapped Oliver away. “They  _ always  _ talk back. Now, what exactly are you going to do with your new found energy?”

“Well,” Louis said, kicking his trainers off and zapping a book into his lap. “I really need to read this play before Monday, so I might get started now.”

Delilah shrieked, grabbing the book and chucking it away.

“Homework, Louis?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Do you  _ know  _ how to have fun?” Delilah groaned and rolled her eyes. “Homework is  _ boring!” _

Louis raised his eyebrows. “You can’t have fun all of the time.”

“Why not?” Delilah asked and waved a hand dismissively. “Now, put that book down and come with me to the waterslide.”

Louis frowned, glancing over to his abandoned book. He knew what he should do, he knew his responsibilities.

“Well.” He sighed. “I can’t say no to a waterslide.”

-

“I wish I could stay here forever,” Louis said with a sigh as Oliver worked on massaging his thighs. “It’s so much better than reality.”

Delilah smiled sweetly as she chomped her way through a pain au chocolat.

“You can, darling.” She winked. “You’re an adult, you can do whatever you want. Johannah can’t tell you what to do.”

Louis pouted. Maybe Delilah was right. It had never occurred to him to consider living in the other realm. Sure, he had university, but ever since he found out he was a witch, he had found himself questioning everything. Uni would help him find a good job, but he had everything he needed here. He wouldn’t get bored. If he got fed up of the rooms of the Pleasure Dome, Delilah could presumably just change them. He was starting to feel like being a witch was putting the entire world at his feet.

“I can really stay here?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

“In that case, fuck homework.” Louis widened his eyes. “Sorry.”

Delilah scoffed. “Swear all you want.”

“Well, fuck!” Louis laughed. “Thanks, Aunt D.”

Delilah smirked and licked chocolate off of her fingers. “Your mother will be furious with me.”

-

_ “I’m furious!” _ Louis heard Jay screech down the phone to Delilah. _ “Put me on with Louis, at once.” _

“Louis?” Delilah said airily. “Would you  _ like _ to speak with your mother? Or not?”

“Yeah,” Louis said with a shrug, taking the phone. “Hello?”

_ “Louis William Tomlinson, what on earth do you think you’re doing?” _

“Mum, look. I didn’t know I could live in the other realm. I’m an adult, I can make decisions for myself.”

_ “Clearly you can’t.” _

“Well, I’m staying.”

Jay stayed silent for a few minutes, before sighing.  _ “You seem to have made up your mind.” _

“I have.” Louis rolled his eyes to himself. “You should come and visit, though.”

_ “No thanks,”  _ Jay said flatly.  _ “Goodbye, Louis.” _

She hung up and Louis raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn’t know if what kind of issues there were between the two sisters, but Jay had never seemed overly fond of Delilah. Sure, Delilah seemed to have some kind of aversion to responsibility, but it wasn’t like Jay didn’t know how to have fun.

Louis gave the phone back to Delilah, feeling a little uneasy. His mum didn’t even put up much of a fight, which felt odd to him. Still, at least he could stay.

“Aw, dear,” Delilah cooed at Louis. “I’ve got just the thing to cheer you up.”

She took his hand and led him towards one of the first doors she had shown him. She opened it, and a crowd of people began to applaud Louis and shout encouraging things at him.

“Well…” Louis said, a smile creeping onto his face. “Okay, it makes me feel a bit better.”

-

After a stint in the hall of gratuitous praise, Louis had a facial and sat down to play some video games. Delilah walked into the game room.

“What do you want to eat?” she asked. “Pizza? Burger and chips?”

Louis paused his game and dropped the controller to the arm of the chair.

“You know what? I miss my friends.”

“Sorry, honey. You know the rules. I’ll tell you what, though. You  _ can _ see your friends anytime you want.”

“I can?”

Delilah handed him a remote control. “Flick the channel up and down.”

Louis pressed the button and his mother came on the screen. She was sitting on the sofa, eating pasta and watching TV. 

“I thought you said you missed your friends.”

“I do,” Louis replied. “I mean, I miss Mum, too.”

“Mm, well. Life at home isn’t exactly riveting, is it?”

“It’s alright,” Louis protested defensively. “Let’s check Niall.”

Louis flicked the channel up. Niall was in Louis’ room, toys and kibble strewn about the place and Niall was moaning with what sounded like pleasure while he chewed on something.

“What the heck is he- are those my face wipes?!” Louis scoffed. “He’s chewing my face wipes, he’s so creepy.”

“This is sad,” Delilah said with a sigh.

“Agreed. Okay, Zayn.”

Zayn was sitting cross-legged on his bed, chatting with someone on the phone. He was laughing, not seeming to be missing Louis as much as he was missing him.

_ “Okay, okay.”  _ Zayn wiped his eyes.  _ “Look, I really have to go.” _

“Right,” Louis said, changing the channel. “That’s enough of Zayn being happy without me.”

The channel had changed to Harry, who was on the phone as well. He was grinning and, for a second, Louis wondered if they were on the phone together and his stomach plummeted. What if they were having an affair behind his back? Surely not.

_ “Really, though, Z.” _ Harry sighed, and Louis swallowed. They really were on the phone together.  _ “I miss Louis. He didn’t say how long he’d be gone for, what if he never comes back?” _

Okay, so maybe that was a no on the affair. Louis’ heart sunk at Harry’s words, though, and he turned to Delilah and made a sad face.

“Aww,” he groaned. Delilah didn’t look impressed. “My boy misses me.”

_ “You’re right,” _ Harry said.  _ “I’ll ring him. I’ll have to see if his mum has a number, because he emailed me and said his mobile doesn’t work where he is.” _

“Ugh, I can’t watch this.” Louis turned the TV off. “Maybe coming here wasn’t a good idea after all.”

“Don’t say that!” Delilah pouted. “You don’t need friends. You have anything you want here.”

“I care about these people, D.” Louis shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I have to go home.”

Delilah inhaled and let out a massive sigh.

“Alright, fine. Go back to your simple, mortal life.” She smiled sadly. “I’ll be lonely without you.”

“Come and stay in the mortal realm with me and Mum!”

Delilah looked at him as if he was crazy. “I’m alright, actually.”

Louis grinned and pulled her in for a hug. “This was a lot of fun. I won’t forget it. Promise.”

“Come and visit whenever you’d like.”

Louis headed towards the Pleasure Dome’s portal and headed home. He appeared in his basement in the blink of an eye and, when he came up the stairs, Jay gasped.

“Louis, darling! You’re home.”

“I’m home,” he confirmed.

“What happened? Too much fun got a bit boring?”

“Well… yeah, I guess. I need the structure of real life. Plus, I missed you and my friends. There’s more to life than just having fun all of the time.” Louis rolled his eyes. “I know you already know that.”

“You learnt it on your own. That’s fine.” Jay pulled him into a hug. “Wanna watch a film?”

“Yes!” Louis held up a hand. “But wait, let me just call Harry first.”

-

Louis woke up late the next morning, and came down to find his mum on the sofa, snoozing in front of a quiz show. He headed through to the kitchen to make them both a cup of tea and fetch himself some breakfast. While the tea was brewing, Jay woke up and came through to join in.

“You’re up late. Are you missing a class?”

Louis chewed the inside of his cheek. “Not an important one.”

“They’re all important, Lou.”

“I know, I know. One’s okay. The notes will be online anyway.” He shrugged. “I suppose my weekend of fun was more tiring than I thought.”

“Hm, and I bet she put that spell on you that means you don’t need to sleep.”

“How did you know?”

Jay scoffed. “Yeah, when you come off it you crash like crazy. Get an early night the next few nights, because it hits you like a ton of bricks.”

“Alright.” Louis sat at the table and looked at his mum. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course,” Jay said, sitting down opposite him.

“I was thinking last night about the Pleasure Dome, and something was bothering me. Aunt Delilah has, like, rooms full of people that just exist in rooms until she needs them. It feels like a wild breach of human rights.”

“A lot of these things are just spells, fabrications. They’re not exactly real people, not in the true sense. Look at the man dough spell. For all intents and purposes, they seem like real people. But three hours later, they’re gone.”

“It’s a mind fuck.”

Jay frowned but didn’t comment on Louis’ language. “I won’t tell you, though, that they’re aren’t some aspects of the magical world that are very hazy on the whole human rights thing.”

“Like what?”

Jay fixed him with a stare. “Like turning lovesick boys into frogs? It wasn’t a threat. If it hadn’t been true love, Harry really would have stayed a frog.”

“Oh, yeah. Yikes.”

“It’s another reason I prefer the mortal realm,” Jay said with a shrug. “They’re especially harsh on mortals, you know. It’s all very outdated.”

“I guess people in the other realm see mortals as lesser.”

“Exactly.” Jay sighed. “Sadly, it’s just the way the world works.”

-

“I just missed you  _ so  _ much.”

“Aww,” Louis said with a soft laugh. “I know.”

Harry was hugging Louis from behind, just outside the drama room. Louis gripped onto Harry’s forearm and leaned back into him.

“I missed you, too,” Louis admitted. “I had fun at my aunt’s, but I missed you and Zayn a lot.”

“Let’s get drunk tonight.”

“I can’t,” Louis said. “I need to get a few early nights.”

“Burnt the candle at both ends, huh?”

“Yeah. Plus I took this antihistamine that knocked me out and my mum says it’ll take me a few days to recover.”

“Alright.” Harry kissed Louis’ cheek and finally released him. “But will you stay round mine one day? Nothing like  _ that, _ but I’d love to cuddle all night and make you breakfast in the morning.”

“Sounds good.” Louis smiled. 

“Let’s go for lunch,” Harry said, linking his arm in Louis’. “How was your class?”

“Fine.” Louis sighed and rolled his eyes. “Except Liam’s getting on my bloody nerves.”

“Uh oh. What now?”

“He’s just so abrasive. He’s proper got it in for me.”

Harry sighed. “Well, he’s probably just jealous that you’ve got all my attention.”

“Yeah. That’s probably it.” Louis grinned at him. “Hey, is it okay if I text Zayn and ask him to join us?”

“Of course! After all, the three of us were friends before you and I got together.”

Louis had a great catch up with Harry and Zayn, which was lovely, and it just reassured him that he had made the right decision in not staying at the Pleasure Dome. 

“I can’t wait until Easter break,” Harry said with a sigh as he walked Louis home. “I think I’m gonna go home and visit my family, at least over Easter weekend. You got any plans?”

“My mum said something about going away, so maybe we’re going up north too, to visit my sisters.”

“Aww. That’ll be nice.” Harry sniffed. “So… can I ask? How come you and your mum moved down here and they stayed up there?”

Louis’ heart started to pound. It wasn’t that there wasn’t a good excuse - after all, Louis moved to London without knowing the real reason - but any time Harry asked a question that skated too close to the whole magical powers thing, he got nervous. He hated lying to him.

“Um. Well, I was starting university and, at roughly the same time, my mum got transferred. The girls are all still at school, so my mum decided it would be better for them to stay there and move in with their dad. My mum sometimes goes to visit for the weekend, but I’ve not been back since the two of us moved down here in the new year.”

“Gosh.” Harry sighed. “I find it difficult without my mum down here. It’s the first time I’ve been away from her, you know?”

“Yeah.” Louis tightened his grip on Harry’s arm. “It’s all part of growing up, sadly.”

Harry just shrugged, and they walked the rest of the way to Louis’ in silence. Harry popped in for a wee before leaving for his own home, Louis giving him a kiss beforehand. When Louis got inside, his mother was at the cauldron again.

“Oh, no. Not more hair soup.”

“No, no. Just a little something to make my boss less aggressive. Just… take the edge of him a bit.”

“A sledgehammer?”

“Louis,” she reprimanded. 

“Maybe I could use it on Liam.”

“You can’t. I’m brewing this potion to a very certain specification for my boss.”

Louis smiled sweetly. “I meant the sledgehammer.”

Jay glared at him. “Who is this Liam, anyway?”

“He’s on my course and he also works in the cafe on campus. He’s such an arsehole for no reason. Except that he’s mostly nice to Harry. He probably wants to…” Louis glanced at his mother. “Um, go out with him.”

“Well, this isn’t school anymore. In the real world, we deal with our problems in a more mature way.”

Louis let out an indignant laugh. “Like brewing potions to change people’s personalities?”

“Temporarily!” Jay said in defence. “Okay, things are done differently in the magical world.”

“Mm.” Louis grinned to himself. “Hey, so you’d said something about going away for Easter. Are we headed up north to visit the girls?”

“Um…” Jay bit down on her lip. “We  _ are _ headed north. But we’re not visiting the girls.”

“Oh?”

“We’re going skiiing!”

“Who? Me and you?” Louis raised his eyebrows. “Since when do you ski? Since when do  _ I _ ski?”

“We’ll get you a tutor. It’ll be fun!”

“When you say north... You mean…”

“Mars!”

Louis’ eyes nearly popped out of his head.

-

Louis watched Liam move around behind the cafe counter as Harry spoke.

“Do you ever worry that Liam’s gonna spit in our food?”

“Are you even listening to me?”

Louis sighed. “Sorry, Haz. I keep drifting off. My mind is already on Easter holidays.”

“I asked if you found out what you’re doing over the break.”

“Oh. Um, yeah. We’re headed up north.” Louis chewed the inside of his cheek and set his attention on his nails. “Thursday to Wednesday, something like that.”

“Aww, I’m only gone for the weekend.” Harry pouted. “Well, I’ll miss you. Visiting your family?”

“I’ll miss you, too. And, um. Yeah. Visiting family.” Louis ran his index finger over the back of Harry’s hand as he gritted his teeth. He hated lying to him. “I’ll call you while I’m away.”

“Good.” Harry licked his lips and grinned. “I already can’t wait for you to get back.”

Louis couldn’t help but smile. As exciting as going to Mars might have sounded, he wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. He didn’t ski and, like Harry, he knew he would struggle with the two of them being apart.

-

“Come on, Louis,” Jay called. “We don’t have all day.”

Louis shouldered his backpack, grabbed his coat, and walked towards the door, where his suitcase was waiting. He swore as he realised his phone was still on his bed, going back to pocket it before heading back towards the door.

He emerged onto the landing and trundled down the stairs, suitcase banging on every step as he descended. Jay was standing at the door to the basement, arms folded and glaring at him.

“You’ll ruin my bloody carpet.”

“Use a spell.” Louis smiled sarcastically, before eyeing his mother wrapped in her coat with absolutely no luggage. “Where’s your stuff?”

“While you were busy being a sarcastic, cocky little witch, I was putting my feet up because I remembered I have this.” Jay waved her magic finger in front of Louis’ face. “Come on, then.”

Louis groaned and dropped all his bags. Jay opened the door to the basement and they both descended the stairs.

“Now, darling, it’s cold on Mars.”

“I know, Mum. Doesn’t it get to, like, minus a hundred degrees?”

Jay cleared her throat. “Yes. Well. My point is, the resorts are controlled. So when you’re told not to leave the resort and cross any boundaries, you have to respect that.”

“Sure thing.”

“And sun cream is an absolute must. Our atmosphere helps block the UV rays, but-”

“Mum, I know.”

“Sorry,” Jay said with a slight laugh as they approached the mysterious door which served as their portal. “Ready?”

“Yup.”

In less than a minute, they emerged into some kind of atrium. There was a big desk at the opposite end, so Jay and Louis made their way towards it. Jay checked them in as Louis took in his surroundings.

He could see through the skylight that the sky was pink. It was beautiful, and his first thought was that he  _ had  _ to tell Harry. But of course, he couldn’t. Zayn would love it, too, Louis thought with a sigh.

“Ready?” Jay asked.

Louis followed her to the lift, and the few other guests who were scattered around looked at them curiously. Louis caught the eye of someone looking at them disapprovingly, and stared them down until the lift doors closed.

“People looked at us funny.”

“Mm, well. The lazy bastards can’t understand why we’re not zapping ourselves to our rooms.”

“Why aren’t we?” Louis asked with a grin.

“We’re not lazy bastards.”

“Fair,” Louis said. “But why do they even put lifts in?”

“There are regulations in the other realm, too. They have to have measures in place in case extreme weather conditions cause a power outage.”

“But then how would the lifts run?”

Jay rolled her eyes. “Not the electricity, Louis.  _ Our  _ powers.”

“Oh. That’s a thing?”

“Yup. And there are, of course, stairs in case of emergency during a power outage.” Jay shrugged. “Not a lot of witches use stairs and lifts and such, but some do. Mostly those of us who live in the mortal realm.”

“Yeah. I can’t seem to kick the habit.”

Jay laughed as they got out of the lift. “Keep it up. I don’t want you relying on your finger to do everything for you.”

Louis’ wild and inappropriate thoughts were pushed aside in favour of finding their rooms. They were at the end of the corridor, which Louis was happy about.

“You didn’t really need to get two rooms, Mum.”

“Well, you’re a young lad. You need your privacy.” Jay turned to smile at him. “Plus, they’re adjoining.”

Louis laughed. “Of course they are.”

Despite the fact that there were dozens of floors above theirs, their rooms both had huge skylights that showed the beautiful pink sky. Louis watched his mum zap in some clothes, and the bits and bobs she would definitely need for the trip. Louis went back to his own room and zapped in everything he had packed. Not only could he not be bothered to unpack, he couldn’t even be bothered to zap his clothing into the drawers. He left it all for later. 

“Let’s go and explore the resort,” Jay said once they met back up. “It’s too late in the day to start any skiing, but we can have a look around for a bit, then go for dinner.”

The lobby was made of ice, which was odd and strangely warm. There was a bar, which was beginning to fill up. 

“What’s that?” Louis asked, pointing at a weird, brown peak that served as a centrepiece to a seating area.

“It’s a volcano.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “A little volcano? In the middle of a seating area? In a lodge made of ice?”

Jay just laughed as they walked past. So far, Mars had been somewhat more interesting that Venus, where Louis hadn’t even been allowed to step outside. Maybe he could bring himself to have a good time, even if he did already miss Harry like crazy.

-

They ate dinner, and Louis announced he was going to call Harry.

“No, Louis!” Jay grabbed his arm as he walked towards a pay phone. “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“We’re on Mars,” Jay said, as if it was obvious. “The time zone is different, very different. We’re so far ahead of Earth, it’s still yesterday there.”

“Wait.” Louis furrowed his brow. “It’s yesterday? So we haven’t left yet?”

“Exactly. If you call Harry, he’ll explode.” Jay patted him on the back. “Wait twenty-four hours.”

“That sucks!”

“And make sure you use the pay phone and not your mobile. The roaming charges are a killer.”

“Fine. So, what is there to do instead?”

“If you want to ski tomorrow, I’d suggest an early night. It’s best to get out really early. There’s nothing like an early morning Mars ski.”

“I don’t want to ski,” Louis told her. “I guess I’ll just hang around. I’ll find something to do.”

“Well, I’m going to book you in with an instructor, just in case you change your mind.”

Louis fixed her with a look, but smiled anyway. “Thanks. I’m gonna go to my room.”

He headed upstairs and laid in his huge, soft bed. Gazing up at the stars, he knew that one of the tiny dots was probably Earth. Louis had been looking forward to this trip, to seeing Mars and getting away for a bit. But he was just so far away from Harry, and it turned out that he was all Louis could think about.

Despite their dating, and kissing, and spending nights together, they weren’t yet official boyfriends. Louis had been leaving that ball in Harry’s court, as had been agreed, and Harry was dragging his heels. Louis already knew how he felt for Harry, but coming to Mars had solidified it for him. Like when he was staying at the Pleasure Dome with aunt Delilah, he missed Harry a lot. 

The next morning, he headed straight down for breakfast, where Jay was already eating.

“Morning, Mum.”

“Sleep well?”

“Actually, yeah.” Louis stretched his arms and yawned. “It feels so peaceful here.”

“I think it’s mostly due to the different air quality.” Jay took a sip of tea. “It’s a buffet, darling, go fill a plate.”

Louis piled a plate high before returning to the table his mother was sitting at.

“So are you skiing today?”

“Getting ready after breakfast,” Jay said with a nod. “You might want to wait a bit after breakfast, seeing as how much you’re intending to eat.”

“For the last time, Mum, I don’t want to ski.”

“Alright, alright.”

They finished up their breakfasts, and Louis headed to the lounge to sit in front of the volcano. He picked up a magazine, but after a few minutes it lay forgotten in his lap as he got lost in thought about Harry.

“Excuse me? Are you Louis?”

Louis jerked out of his daydream and looked up. A young man was standing over him, looking at him, polite and expectant.

“Um, yeah,” Louis said as he stood to his feet. 

“I’m Doug. Your mum hired me to teach you to ski, but she said you might not be up for it.”

Doug was tall, with sandy hair and a great smile. Suddenly, the idea of skiing wasn’t so bad.

“Ah, well. There’s not much else to do, so I might as well give skiing a chance.”

“That’s the spirit!”

-

“Right,” Louis said, gripping his poles. “What’s first?”

“Well…” Doug cleared his throat before pointing at Louis. “There you go.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. He found himself equipped with the basic knowledge of how to ski, which took some of his deep worries about ski-related deaths away. 

“Wow, quick lesson.”

“Mhm, and very expensive,” Doug said with a wink.

Doug suddenly took off, and Louis pushed off to follow him. It was a frightening first few minutes, with Louis thinking he didn’t know how to ski, but of course, his body took over and he held his own as he skied behind Doug. They were at it for a good twenty minutes before Doug came to a stop and they took a rest on a peak.

“Wow, skiing is fun.”

“Let’s take a short break, and we’ll continue. Your technique needs a little work, so we’ll work on that next.”

“It  _ was _ my first time.”

“It’s not a criticism, Louis. You’re very good! A natural.”

Louis felt pleased at that. Doug talked him through where he was going wrong and when they started again, Louis could feel that his form was better. He followed Doug around the slopes and, when he finally felt too exhausted to carry on, Louis came to a stop and realised they had been going for over four hours.

“Wow,” Louis said, trying to catch his breath. “That was crazy! Is this gonna cost my mum a stupid amount of money?”

“Ah, no,” Doug said with a laugh. “I’ve not been teaching you this whole time, just letting you follow me while I ski.”

“True.” Louis stretched. His body was beginning to get sore already. “Well, thanks, Doug. I think I need to go to my room and have a soak in the bath.”

“Alright. Will I see you in the lodge this evening? There aren’t often a lot of young people hanging around here, and the ones that do are total party animals.”

“Hey! How do you know I’m not a party animal?”

Doug smirked. “You just said you’re going for a soak in the bath.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Shut up. I’ll see you later.”

-

Louis took his bath, and if he had a nap afterwards, well. That was no one’s business. He took his time getting dressed the mortal way, dressed in his very worn in ripped jeans and a big, cosy jumper. 

He met Jay for dinner, who had been skiing for even longer than he had.

“I’m just so energised!” she gushed. “I feel wonderful.”

“Really?” Louis scoffed. “I feel half dead.”

“Well, you don’t exercise very much, Louis.”

“I play football,” he protested. 

“Not the same as skiing, though.” Jay raised her eyebrows. “Anyway, so you enjoyed it?”

“Yeah, I’ll admit it. Doug’s a great teacher and, yeah. It was a lot of fun.”

“That’s great. I’d love us to come skiing together in the future. In fact, we should ski together tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

They ate, and Jay headed upstairs to the resort’s resident club. Louis tried not to think about his mother in a nightclub as he headed to meet Doug by the volcano.

“I took the liberty of getting us hot chocolates,” Doug said. “I hope you don’t hate it, or are deathly allergic, or something.”

“Actually, I love hot chocolate. Thanks!”

They sat together on the sofa and watched the little volcano bubbling. He conjured some little marshmallows for his hot chocolate before asking Doug if he wanted any.

“Ah, no thanks. I’m not a fan of little marshmallows, I don’t know why. I like the big ones.”

“Say no more.” Louis pointed at Doug’s mug and it turned into a giant marshmallow. “You’re welcome.”

“Oh, my God!” Doug exclaimed, holding it away from his body. “The hot chocolate will melt it!”

“There’s no hot chocolate in it, calm down,” Louis said with a laugh, undoing his spell. “As if I’d cast a spell that would scald you.”

“I don’t know you that well,” Doug pointed out. “You could be a terrible,  _ terrible _ witch.”

“Well, I’m not.” Louis pointed at Doug’s feet and turned his trainers into marshmallows. “But I am still studying for my licence.”

“So you must be… eighteen?”

“Good guess.” Louis grinned. “I’m also half-mortal, so I’ve only just come into this whole magical world.”

“Oh! You’re a magic baby!” 

“Alright!” Louis nudged him. “Well, I’m better than you thought I’d be. Anyway, you can’t be much older than me, surely.”

“I’m twenty-two in July.”

“Damn.”

Doug laughed. “Anyway, where’s your mum?”

Louis pressed his fingers into his forehead. “Clubbing.”

“Is she really?” Doug grinned. “We should go and join her.”

“Absolutely not!” Louis said. “Um, so… you live on Mars, I guess? Are your parents here?”

“No, my parents are on Earth. I always lived in the other realm, though. I presume you lived in the mortal realm.”

“Yeah. Um, still do.”

“No way. Gosh.”

“Yeah, we were those weirdos who arrived and took the lift up to our rooms.”

“Oh, right.” Doug laughed. “Yeah, there was vicious gossip that there were some weirdos on site.”

Louis cackled. “I’m sure.”

“Look, seriously… do you wanna go upstairs for a dance? We can, like, avoid your mum and stuff.”

“Oh… yeah, okay.”

“Great!”

Doug grabbed Louis’ wrist and transported them upstairs. They stopped by the bar, Doug getting them a beer each before leading Louis out onto the dance floor.

“So,” he leaned in and said in Louis’ ear once they started to move to the music. “Are we skiing tomorrow?”

“Ah, I promised I’d ski with my mum. Sorry.”

“Don’t be! You’re here on holiday with her, you should spend time together.”

“Thanks,” Louis replied. “But maybe on Sunday?”

“Make it Monday, and we have a deal.”

“Bright and early!”

They danced for about an hour, Louis steering them away any time he spotted his mum. He left before she did, retreating to his room for late-night room service before passing out.

-

“I’m gonna be sick.”

“Louis, if you can’t keep up with me, just don’t keep up with me. Don’t strain yourself.”

“I can handle it,” Louis retorted.

He couldn’t handle it. He had no idea his mother was such a keen skier, although he supposed she’d had hundreds of years of practice. 

“I’ve only had, like, one lesson,” Louis continued.

“It’s alright. I’ll slow down a bit.”

“You will not!” Louis sipped at his cup of tea that they had stopped off for. “Look, if we get separated, it’s fine. Just ping me.”

“I’ll find you.” Jay stood up and pulled her goggles back down over her eyes. “Right, I’m gonna get going again. See you out and about.”

Louis rolled his eyes as his mother set off. He thought about just going back, or having another cup of tea, but he didn’t want to fall behind. She was his mum, she would love him no matter what, but he still felt like he had something to prove.

He threw the rest of his tea on the snow and got going.

-

When they arrived back at the resort, Louis collapsed on the sofa.

“I am… exhausted.”

“Don’t get too settled,” Jay said, walking in a few steps behind him. “There was a message at the front desk for you to call Niall.”

“Niall?” Louis tilted his head to the side. “What does he want? From me specifically?”

Jay cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t know. Why don’t you call him and find out?”

Louis groaned and pulled himself up off the sofa. He headed over to the pay phone.

“Niall?” Louis said as soon as Niall answered. “What do you want?”

_ “Hello to you, too. Where have you been? I left that message last night.” _

“I’m on holiday, fur ball. What do you want?”

_ “I just have a message to pass on to you from Harry. He said to tell you he was going to sleep.” _

“That’s an odd message.” Louis frowned before widening his eyes. “Oh, fuck!”

He hung up on Niall, pulling his phone out of his pocket and finding Harry’s number.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he muttered as he dialled. “I’m a horrible person.”

_ “Hello?” _

“Harry!” Louis sighed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you last night. I must be on Mars, or something.”

Harry chuckled softly down the line.  _ “Hey, it’s okay. It’s good to hear your voice.” _

“Yours too,” Louis said. “I miss you.”

_ “Miss you too. How’s home?” _

“Oh, um, we’ve gone skiing.”

_ “Skiiing? In Doncaster?” _

Louis bit his lip. “It was a surprise trip! We’re in France. That’s why my mobile’s not working.”

_ “Really? Mine always works, ‘cause of that EU roaming thing.” _

“I’m on Tesco Mobile, aren’t I? They’re always cutting corners.” 

“Hey, Lou?” Doug approached Louis, pulling a face when he saw what he was doing. “Oh, sorry.”

“Um, I’ll be off in a minute.”

_ “Who was that?” _ Harry asked.

“That’s my ski instructor.”

_ “Gosh, that’s so cool! Is he nice?” _

“Yeah! He’s… fine.” Louis cleared his throat. “Look, I’d better go, but I’ll call you again. I absolutely promise.”

_ “Yeah, no probs. Lou?” _

“Yeah?”

_ “Have fun!” _

“Thanks, Haz. Happy Easter.”

Louis hung up and his chest swelled with guilt. He couldn’t  _ believe _ he had forgotten to call Harry. After all that pining after Harry he had done when he first arrived, he had gone and forgotten.

“Um,” Doug said, clearing his throat. “Just wanted to say hi. How was skiing with your mum?”

“Hm? Oh.” Louis scoffed. “She’s impossible to keep up with. I’m not sure I can go out with her again.”

“Bummer,” Doug said with a shrug. “Well, I’ll see you Monday. I won’t leave you behind. Promise!”

-

On Sunday, Louis discovered the spa.

An other realm spa was… different. The facials involved peeling one’s entire face off for a deep clean. There was a full-body treatment that involved being dipped into a human-sized beehive. You could even have your tongue removed for a full scraping.

Louis settled for a full-body massage. He needed it after all the skiing, and so he opted for an aromatherapy massage. He was on holiday, after all. He came out of the spa feeling brand new, and he spent the rest of the day lazing around. 

When Jay came into the lounge, she swatted Louis’ ankles, waking him from a snooze.

“Hm?” Louis grunted, pulling himself up. “Hi. Do you not get bored, skiing every day?”

“We’re on a ski holiday, darling.” Jay said down and sighed. “You smell nice.”

“Aromatherapy massage.” Louis stretched his arms and smiled. “I feel very chilled.”

“Well, good. I’m glad. Are we having dinner?”

Jay told Louis about her skiing habits when she was younger over dinner. As interesting as it was, Louis was far more interested in the chicken sandwich he was eating. God knows what they did to food on Mars, but it was one of the best things he had ever tasted.

“...And I’ve just loved skiing ever since. There are some great slopes on Earth, but nothing compares to the mountains here on Mars.”

“That’s nice,” Louis said. “Not to change the subject, but I don’t understand this time difference thing.”

“Oh. Well, what do you mean?”

“If we’re a day ahead of Earth, how come we didn’t just get here the next day? It doesn’t make sense.”

“What do you mean?” Jay frowned. “We left on Thursday, and we arrived on Thursday.”

“But Thursday at home was Friday here. So how come we didn’t arrive on Friday?”

Jay shrugged. “Just the way things work in the other realm.”

“So… essentially… we travelled back in time.”

“Yeah, suppose. If you wanna put it like that.”

Louis shook his head and rubbed his temples. This stuff messed with his head.

-

The next day, he still hadn’t figured it out.

“So we’ll leave on Wednesday, and arrive home on Wednesday? And then it’ll be Thursday here but it will have only taken us a few seconds to get home?”

“Yes,” Jay said, exasperated.

“Well, I just need to know what to tell Harry!” Louis said. “I don’t want him to explode. Or be waiting on our doorstep for twenty-four hours.”

“Just tell him you’ll come round when you get back.”

“Mm,” Louis hummed. “Anyway, are you skiing today?”

“After lunch.” She nodded. “You’ve actually inspired me. I’m going to go for a massage.”

“Aw, great.”

Louis finished up his breakfast before heading off to meet Doug. They set off down the slopes, Louis feeling even more confident than last time. Doug taught him a few cool moves and, when they broke for lunch, Louis excused himself and went off to find his mother. She had already hit the slopes, so he had a job to find her. When she finally took a break to have a cup of coffee, he caught up with her.

“Mum!” he panted, out of breath.

“Louis! What a nice surprise.”

Louis glared at her. “I’ve been chasing you for ages.”

“Is everything alright?”

They sat at a little table and Jay took a sip of her coffee.

“I need advice.”

“Okay.”

Louis paused to bite his lip. “Um… Doug invited me for a picnic after our skiing session.”

Jay smiled. “Aw, that sounds like fun.”

Louis sighed and propped his chin on his hand. “I know. But I can’t help but feel like I’m cheating on Harry, or something. Having fun without him feels wrong. Especially when I’m having that fun with another man.”

“Oh, look. You can picnic with Doug just as friends. Two men can be friends without it being something romantic or sexual, can’t they?”

“I suppose.”

“Do you like him?”

Louis felt a blush creeping up his face. He wasn’t sure if it was from having this kind of conversation with his mother, or because he felt guilty.

“Yes,” he admitted. “But nothing like how I feel for Harry.”

“Look, as you learned during your true love test, temptation is something that challenges every relationship. There are always going to be boys that you fancy, whether you’re in a relationship or not. Some of them might even be your friends.”

“Get to the point, Mum. What should I do?”

Jay shook her head and threw back the rest of her coffee. “You know I can’t make that decision for you.”

“Are you sure?” Louis whined.

-

Louis followed Doug across the red, rocky surface, and eventually they came to a halt.

“Here it is.” Doug jumped down into a crater, before holding his hand out to help Louis down. “The best crater on the whole planet.”

“Have you been to all of them?”

“Well, this is my favourite of the ones I’ve seen.” Doug laughed as he shook out the picnic blanket. “It’s especially incredible at night.”

“Mars is so cool. I want to move to another planet.”

“Eh, it’s no different. Not really. It’s just a different backdrop to the same old problems you go through on Earth.”

Louis hummed in agreement as he sat on the blanket. The crater was maybe ten square feet, big enough for them to have ample space but small enough to feel cosy and secluded. Louis looked up to the sky, where dusk had fallen and the moon was just visible.

“The moon is such a weird shape,” Louis remarked.

“That’s Phobos. Mars actually has two moons, but Deimos just looks like a bright star.” Doug pointed to a bright spot. “There’s Deimos, the other moon.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Louis sighed. “Wow.”

When Louis looked away from the sky, he noticed Doug looking at him. He smiled, a little self-conscious.

“When do you leave?” Doug asked.

“Um, Wednesday.”

“Aw.” Doug sighed. “That’s a shame. I like you, you know.”

“Oh, that’s sweet. I, um…”

Doug shuffled closer and, before Louis knew what was happening, Doug was leaning in. Louis moved his head back.

“What are you doing?”

“Sorry,” Doug said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. Did I misread your signals?”

Louis sighed. “I don’t know. Sorry.”

The air turned awkward and stale. Louis pushed his hands between his thighs and looked back up at the sky.

“Um, I’ll walk you back to the lodge,” Doug said quietly.

“Thanks.”

-

There was a knock on Louis’ door, and he groaned, the thought of having to get up and open it too much for him. That was, of course, until he remembered he could open it with his powers. 

“Come in,” he called, pointing at the door.

“It’s me,” Jay said, poking her head around the door.

“You could’ve come in through our connecting door, you know.”

She smiled awkwardly. “I locked my key card in the room.”

“Why didn’t you use magic?”

“Oh, darling. These doors are magic proof from the outside. Otherwise, we’d all get robbed all the time, wouldn’t we?”

“Suppose.”

Jay sat on the edge of the bed, where Louis was staring up at the night sky. 

“I take it your date didn’t go well.”

“It wasn’t a date.”

“Sorry,” Jay said quickly. “What happened? I hope he didn’t hurt you? Upset you?”

“No, no. He just tried to kiss me. It felt so wrong and now I’m all out of sorts.”

“Well,” Jay started, laying down alongside Louis. “Now you know. If you hadn’t gone on the picnic, you might’ve wondered what could’ve been.”

“Ah, I doubt it. I know how I feel about Harry.” Louis sighed and shrugged at his mother. “It’s true love, after all.”

“It has the  _ potential-” _

“I know, I know.” Louis rolled his eyes. “You’re right, though. It’s better to know.”

“Look, what do you say we head home a day early?”

“Oh, Mum, don’t let me ruin your-”

“No, no. This is both of our holiday. You’re supposed to be relaxing from uni, I don’t want to keep you here longer than you want to be. I don’t think your pining for Harry is going to get any more tolerable, not after this.”

“Shut up,” Louis said softly. “Only if you’re sure.”

-

The next morning, they had breakfast and checked out a day early. Louis stopped by the pay phone before they made their way to the portal.

“Now…” Louis sighed, rubbing his temples. “I’m gonna tell him we’ll be home tomorrow at midday, which is actually, like, now. Is that right?”

“Yes. We’ll arrive home in ten minutes our time, and twenty-four hours and ten minutes his time.”

“This is so weird,” Louis said, shaking his head as he dialled Harry’s number. “Why can’t the other realm- hi, Harry!”

_ “Hey! Having fun?” _

“Ah, well… we’ve actually decided to leave a little early, so I’ll be home tomorrow. I’ll be back around midday if you wanna come by.”

_ “That’s great! I’d love to! I’m only just leaving Cheshire now.”  _ Harry let out a little squeak.  _ “Ahh, almost no time back in London without you. Dream come true.” _

“Well, I can’t wait to see you.” Louis looked back at his mum self-consciously. “I’d better go. We’ve got a lot of travelling to do.”

_ “See you tomorrow, love!” _

Louis couldn’t help but grin at the pet name. “Bye, babe!”

Jay stifled a smile, and Louis resisted the urge to tell her off. They zapped their luggage home, before heading to the end of the atrium, where the portal was. Within seconds, they appeared in their basement.

“Ugh, what a journey.” Jay took her coat off as they ascended the stairs. “I need a cup of tea.”

-

Louis zapped himself into some nice clothes and fixed his hair before opening the front door.

“Harry!” He threw himself into Harry’s arms. “God, I missed you.”

“It’s only been a few days,” Harry said before giggling softly. “I missed you, too.”

“Come in, let’s hang out. Do you want something to drink?”

“Got any juice?”

“Sure!” Louis said, knowing full well there was absolutely nothing in the fridge. “What kind?”

“Orange?”

“Coming up.”

Louis jogged into the kitchen and conjured some freshly squeezed orange juice.

“Ah, there he is,” Niall said.

“Cat,” Louis responded. “I hope you behaved yourself while me and Mum were away. If my room is a tip-”

“Of course it’s not!” Niall cleared his throat. “So, who was at the door?  _ Lover boy?” _

“Grow up, and yes. It’s Harry. So don’t you dare come into the living room.”

Louis picked up his two conjured glasses of orange juice and headed through to the living room. Harry was sitting on the sofa, curled up slightly at one end.

“You okay?” Louis said, looking around the living room suspiciously. “Did something spook you?”

“No,” Harry replied, looking confused. “I wanted to speak to you about something, though.”

The hair at the back of Louis’ neck prickled uncomfortably, but he knew there was no way Harry would have found out about Doug. Saying that, it would be completely wrong to keep it from him.

“Oh, um…” Louis took a deep breath. “I had something I wanted to tell you, actually.”

“You first,” Harry said, smiling somewhat nervously.

“I was afraid you’d say that,” Louis muttered. “Um, okay. I want us to be completely honest with each other, always.”

“You’re scaring me, Lou.”

“I kind of… met someone while I was away. Not like that. Well… no, not like that. He was my ski instructor, and I enjoyed his company a lot, and we hung out, and…”

“Louis, spit it out.”

“He tried to kiss me, but I pulled away. And spending all that time with him made me realise what I feel for you, it’s… special. I could never have felt for him the way I feel for you.” Louis felt his face blush red. “Sorry. Gushing a bit.”

Harry was chewing gum compulsively, staring unblinkingly at the wall behind Louis. He looked like he was desperately trying not to feel, which was heartbreaking to Louis.

“Haz, say something.”

“So, you liked him.”

“Look, temptation is always going to be there to test our…” Louis looked at Harry, who looked back to him and raised his eyebrows. “Relationship.”

“So, do you consider us to be in one? A relationship?”

“My point is…” Louis sighed. “I’m really sorry. I think what we have is special, and I’d never put that in jeopardy.”

“Can I be honest?” Harry asked, taking a deep breath when Louis nodded. “When you meet guys you fancy, I’d really rather you don’t tell me.”

“Right.” Louis gave him a small smile. “Sorry.”

Harry smiled back and took a swig of orange juice.

“Your turn,” Louis said. “What did you want to say?”

“Well, I  _ was _ going to ask where we are, and if you consider me your boyfriend.” Harry shrugged. “But you’ve just evaded what is essentially the same question, so…”

“Oh!” Louis said, letting out a relieved laugh. “Haz, you wanted to take it slow, so I’ve been leaving the ball in your court with all that stuff. But to be honest… yeah, I think I consider you my boyfriend. Or at least, I’d like to.”

Harry sighed with relief. “Me too.”

Louis let out an excited squeal before shuffling closer to Harry and kissing him. 

“Well, that went better than I expected.”

Harry glared at him. “I’m serious, though. I know it’s inevitable that there will be other guys you fancy, but I trust you. I just don’t wanna hear about them.”

“Absolutely fine.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t wanna hear if there was someone in my critical listening class that I fancied, you know, couldn’t stop staring at type of thing… got butterflies any time he spoke to me…”

“Harry!” Louis said. “Are you trying to hurt me?”

“No.”

“Wait, isn’t that the class you told me about that doesn’t have any other guys in it?”

“That’s the one.”

-

Spring arrived and the temperature grew milder. Harry sprung up with the season, his mood becoming rather giddy, even through his hay fever. Liam glared at him every time he sneezed in the cafe.

“Take some medication, idiot,” Liam growled as he put their coffees on the table. “None of us wanna get ill.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “It’s hay fever, genius. You can’t catch it. Just in case you didn’t know.”

Liam paused to give Louis a dark look before disappearing again.

“He’s driving me  _ mad,” _ Louis whispered to Harry. “He’s trying to completely take over the showcase. I’m worried I might do something I regret.”

“You just need to stay away from him the best you can.”

“Easier said than done. He does it on purpose. He comes over and winds me up just for his own amusement. I swear to God…”

“Remember what I said before?” Harry smiled reassuringly. “He needs to do a good job, too. He needs a good grade. I believe that you’ll find a way to work it out with him.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

-

“...And then Harry said, ‘I believe you’ll find a way to work it out with him’. I mean, does he think I’m some kind of saint? Liam is absolutely impossible.”

“Louis,” Niall said. “In life, you’re always going to have to work with people you don’t get along with, and-”

“I know!” Louis growled. “That doesn’t make it any easier, but  _ thanks.” _

“I’m trying to help! Fuck’s sake!” Niall hissed in irritation. “Not to sound like a broken record, but did you ever think of browsing through spells?”

Louis sighed and pulled up his app. “Well, what am I looking for? Revenge? Nah. Just desserts? Hmm.”

“Try cooperation.”

Louis shot Niall a look. “I don’t want to cooperate with him.”

Niall rolled his eyes. “Well, you’re hopeless.”

“I don’t get why there are, like, standard spells when I can just make up my own, with incantations.”

“Because they’re tried and tested. Approved. You can come up with any old shit, sure, but if your phrasing isn’t exact, you might not get the result you’re after. Especially since you’re new to it and you don’t have your witch's licence.”

“Please. It’s not hard.”

Niall scoffed, loud and exasperated, before jumping off of Louis’ bed and leaving the room.

“Well, it’s not,” Louis muttered to himself. “Now, what should I do with Liam?”

-

“Sort your blocking out,” Liam growled at Louis. “You’re in my space.”

“I’m literally not,” Louis replied. “You’re supposed to be downstage.”

“And another thing: stop flapping your arms. It looks messy. You can’t afford to look messier.”

Louis saw red, and his finger twitched to just turn Liam into a pineapple and have done with it. He took a deep breath and composed himself. It wasn’t worth it. But maybe it was time to think up a spell.

“Think, think,” he whispered to himself. “Um…  _ to keep us out of each other’s faces, keep Liam away at least five paces.” _

“Oh,” Liam said, turning to Louis. “Also, if you could get better at acting, you’d really help us all out.”

“Piss off.”

Liam laughed, taking a step towards Louis. When he took a second step, an invisible force bounced him back, away from Louis. Louis widened his eyes before smirking.

“Stay away from me,” he said to Liam, before turning away. 

He was feeling rather pleased with himself, and laughed quietly as his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out, and the whole phone turned red and started shaking violently. It lifted out of his hand before exploding in a puff of smoke. He looked around, and noticed his surroundings had frozen. The smoke dissipated and he saw the wispy image of Simon, the head of the Witches Council.

“Louis Tomlinson, the spell you put upon Liam Payne is illegal.”

“Illegal? Why?”

“You cannot distance yourself from your problems.”

Louis bit his tongue, as much as he wanted to retort. “Right.”

“As a consequence, the spell will be reversed.”

“Yeah, fine.”

Simon gave him a hard stare. “I don’t mean it’ll be undone. I mean it will be  _ reversed.” _

“Okay?”

“You wanted Liam to stay five paces away from you, so now…” Simon clicked his fingers and Louis felt himself jerk backwards. “You have to stay within five paces of Liam.”

“No, no!” Louis whined as the image of Simon dissipated and everyone around him came back to life. “Fuck.”

Liam gave him a dirty look. “Go away.”

Liam walked away, but that same invisible force was pushing Louis along with him.

“Why are you following me?” Liam scoffed.

“I, um…” Louis sighed to himself. “I thought we could talk, and work out our differences. After all… we both want to do well in this showcase, right?”

Liam stopped and turned to Louis. “Look. We’re not exactly... Each other’s kind of person.”

“We could be!”

Looking Louis up and down, Liam scowled. “Are you coming onto me?”

“No.”

“Because if you are, I’d rather your boyfriend.”

Louis took a deep breath. He could totally do this. He didn’t know how long Simon would make him stick so close to Liam, but he could do this.

“What did you have for lunch?” Liam asked.

“What?” Louis replied. “Um, ham and cheese toastie. Why?”

“Thought I could smell onion breath.”

Louis knew he had chewed through half a pack of chewing gum since lunch, so he was comfortable with mentally accusing Liam of trying to wind him up. 

“Ah, no. Not me. Must be you.”

Liam gave him that dark glare again. “I’m so done. I’m going home.”

Louis reluctantly walked behind him. When they left the classroom, Liam turned around with a growl.

_ “What?” _ He threw his arms up in the air and let them smack down onto his thighs. “Why have you become my shadow all of a sudden?”

“Um, I just thought, you know, since we have to work together, maybe we should get to know each other better.”

“Cool!” Liam said with fake enthusiasm. “Well, okay. Fact one: I don’t like you.”

“Not news to me, but thanks.”

“Fact two: I’m a better actor than you.”

“Debatable.”

“Fact three: I’m going home, and I am really hoping you won’t dare follow me there.”

Louis trotted after Liam as he started to walk again. “Oh, really? I thought maybe we could go for a coffee.”

“Not even in your wildest dreams, onion breath.”

Louis couldn’t take anymore. He fought against the force keeping him within five paces of Liam, struggling and struggling against it until he finally broke through it. For a split second, everything was okay, and he was full of joy and relief. That was, until Liam quite literally exploded.

“Oh my God!” Louis screeched. Nobody else was around, which was a big fat relief. “Fuck, fuck!”

When the smoke dissipated somewhat, he realised there was a box where Liam had been standing. Louis rushed over and picked it up.

“Okay, this is weird.” Louis peered at it. “I turned Liam into a jigsaw puzzle.”

-

Louis zapped himself home.

“Mum! Mum!”

Jay came strolling out of the kitchen, cup of tea in hand.

“What?”

“I turned Liam into a puzzle!”

Jay sighed. “Oh, darling. You blew up a mortal?”

“He started it.”

“Well, we have to assemble him.”

“That’s it?” Louis asked. “Seems suspiciously simple.”

“You have to do it correctly.”

He frowned at Jay. He had an uneasy feeling. There was definitely more to this than just assembling the puzzle, but he had no choice but to go ahead and do it.

“Right,” Louis said, sighing. “Will this be lifesize? Do we need to clear a space?”

Assembling Liam was straightforward at first. They each assembled a part of his body, Louis feeling unbelievably awkward as he put together Liam’s crotch. Soon enough, they pressed the last piece into place.

“That’s it.” Louis frowned, holding the box upside down. “I don’t believe this. There are pieces missing!”

Louis looked down on Liam. He was missing four pieces: one in his head, one in his foot, and two in his chest. Louis scowled. Even as five-hundred bits of cardboard, Liam was a pain in the arse. Louis had to admit, though, now that Liam was flat and silent, it was easier to see how good looking he was. It was sad, really. If he wasn’t such an arsehole, he would be pleasant to look at. If his smile was warmer, Louis might be compelled to smile back.

“Hm, well.” Jay sighed, standing to her feet. “I suppose this is the hard part.”

“Where are these other pieces?” Louis asked. “What do I have to do?”

“Not sure.”

“If I’m not mistaken…” Niall said as he jumped onto the sofa. “You need to find the pieces.”

“Thanks for that, Einstein.”

“Let me finish!” Niall said with a slight growl. “I think you need to explore his life to find the pieces.”

“That’s stupid.”

Niall rolled his eyes.  _ “You’re _ stupid. You’re eighteen, I’m a hundred. Who has the more experience in magic?”

“I dunno, why don’t I ask your probation officer?” Louis bit back. “You don’t even have magic anymore.”

“You know what?” Niall hissed. “You-”

“That’s enough!” Jay shouted. “Niall, go lick yourself. Louis, you need to go and find those puzzle pieces. Listen to the cat. He knows his stuff.”

“Fine.” Louis pulled a face at Niall before pointing at himself, zapping to the back room of the cafe. “Okay. Maybe he has a locker here, or something.”

“Louis?”

One of Liam’s colleagues, Shan, walked into the back room, looking utterly confused. Louis didn’t really know her at all, but they had met at a few parties and made conversation.

“Hi. Um, I’m on Liam’s course and he told me I can borrow his notes from a lecture, and he thinks he left them here.”

“Ugh, sorry to say that if he did, they probably got thrown out. He normally just leaves his stuff on that chair in the corner, so you can feel free to look around but I doubt you’ll find anything.”

“Cheers, Shan.”

Looked like a dead end. He made a show of looking around, under some newspapers and even glanced in the bin before thanking her and disappearing into the alleyway behind the cafe. 

“Right,” he muttered to himself. “His flat. Where the fuck does he live?”

Louis thought hard. He had gathered a lot of information that he had deemed useless since he started university, and he was trying to tap into it. Somewhere in his mind, he thought he recalled that Liam lived in student halls. 

Cohen hall. That sounded right.

Louis had never been there, and when he tried to zap himself there he ended up in a heap in an empty corridor.  _ Great. _ How the hell was he supposed to find Liam’s place?

He could just start knocking on doors, but that would take ages and besides, he didn’t think university students would take kindly to it, nor were they likely to believe just any old excuse. He sighed. He would have to do it the mortal way.

He pulled his phone out and opened the Facebook group for their course. Chewing his bottom lip he scrolled through the members. Who was the most likely to both know where Liam lived and also be trusting enough to tell Louis?

_ ‘Hi Ted,’ _ Louis began a message.  _ ‘Liam lent me his lecture notes and I need to return them, he’s not answering his phone, do you know what number he lives at? I know it’s Cohen hall but I can’t remember the number!! Cheers.’ _

Louis strolled around the corridors in the meantime, hoping to come across a door that said  _ Liam Payne’s flat _ or something. After a couple of minutes, his phone buzzed.

_ ‘Yeah mate, it’s 69, I remember coz Tristan wouldn’t shut up about it for the first month lol’ _

That was right. He had heard Tristan making jokes about Liam’s door number being sixty-nine. He wandered around until he found the right corridor, finding number sixty-nine and taking a deep breath. He knocked.

A very confused looking girl with purple hair answered the door.

“Hi, um… I’m on Liam’s course, and he told me I can borrow his lecture notes? He’s on shift at the cafe and told me to just come round.”

The girl looked at him, unimpressed. “What’s the password?”

“Um… what?”

“I’m joking,” the girl said, her face just as sullen as when she answered the door. “Don’t be long. Dorian doesn’t like strangers in the flat.”

Louis didn’t plan on sticking around to find out who Dorian was. He headed into the room the purple haired girl pointed a finger at to try and find a puzzle piece as quickly as he could.

It was a strange feeling, being in Liam’s room. Louis found him so irritating that it was easy to forget that he was a person, a living, breathing man with loved ones and interests. The room was what Louis would describe as organised chaos. His bed was sloppily made, which was more than Louis ever managed before magic, and his textbooks were stacked on his desk in what looked like some kind of order, although Louis couldn’t work out what that was.

As Louis began to quickly look through his stuff, he pulled open a drawer and rifled through socks and pants. As gross as that was, it was nothing compared to when his fingers grazed a phallic object at the back of the drawer.

“Ew, ew, ew!” Louis shuddered and slammed the drawer shut. “Bloody gross.”

He pulled open the next drawer and looked through it a bit more gingerly. Nothing. He pulled the third drawer open, and was surprised to see it not full of underwear, but full of what looked like children’s books. He took out a handful of stuff and placed it on the bed. 

“Dinosaurs?” Louis cocked an eyebrow.

He had all sorts of books about dinosaurs, some made for kids and some more mature. There were other things in the drawer, too, like a tattered old poster of a Stegosaurus, what looked like a deflated giant blow-up Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a jigsaw puzzle of a variety of dinosaurs.

“Liam’s a dinosaur nut. Brilliant.” Louis chuckled to himself as he thumbed through a pop-up book. Out fell a puzzle piece. “Yes!”

He carefully put the books and other stuff back in the drawer. He twiddled the puzzle piece in his fingers and, as it flipped over, he realised there was something on the back. 

It was the name of the library on their campus. Louis quickly zapped himself there, fearing that he was running out of time. He was a little off, as he materialised in the gents toilets next to the library.

“Motherfucker,” he mumbled as he got up off the floor, wiping himself down in disgust. 

He headed into the library, and everything seemed normal. How the hell was he supposed to find a puzzle piece in amongst thousands of books, and a lot more things besides?

“Louis?” a hushed voice called. He looked up to see Zayn at a table, gesturing him over.

“Zayn?”

“Have you seen Liam?”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Why are  _ you _ looking for Liam?”

“We’re having a science club meeting and he’s late.”

_ “Science club?” _ Louis scoffed. “You never told me Liam was part of your science club.”

“You get angry whenever anyone mentions him!” Zayn shrugged. “Liam’s a big part of the club. He’s really clever, you know.”

Louis stared at Zayn in disbelief. Louis had no idea Zayn even interacted with Liam away from the cafe. 

“I think he might still be rehearsing for the showcase,” Louis said.

“Typical Liam,” Zayn scoffed. Okay, so Zayn was still hostile towards Liam. Louis felt a little better. “If you’re headed back there, can you at least give him this handout? It’s just a thing I found yesterday that I thought would interest him.”

Louis was internally screaming but he nodded and took the wad of papers. “Sure.”

As soon as he took hold of them he could feel the puzzle piece. He hurried out of the library and pulled it out. There was an address on the back.

“Wolverhampton?” he whined. “Like I have the time.”

He was just complaining for the sake of it, since zapping himself there would be instant, just as if he was zapping himself into the next room. He concentrated on the address as he pointed at himself, and he materialised in the front garden of the house.

“Score!” he whispered to himself. He just hoped nobody had seen.

He knocked on the door, trying to hurriedly come up with a reason to get inside. He guessed this was Liam’s family home, since Louis could tell from his accent that he was from the Midlands. Not that Louis had ever thought about it, but he reckoned he would have imagined Liam to have a bigger house. This house wasn’t small, but Liam’s attitude gave Louis the impression that he had grown up a rich, spoilt kid. Then again, maybe Louis was too quick to judge.

There was no answer, and although the sun was setting and dusk was falling, no lights were on. Louis sighed, before biting his lip, pointing at himself and praying the Paynes didn’t have an intruder alarm.

He fell in a heap in the living room. He stood up, fixed himself, and concluded that there probably wasn’t an alarm. Once he had got his bearings, he found the stairs and padded up. He found what he presumed to be Liam’s old bedroom on the first try.

The room was meticulously tidy, and the dusting and hoovering was most certainly done at least once a week. It felt homely, and suddenly Louis felt incredibly guilty for the cardboard man currently laying, incomplete, on his living room floor back home. 

There were a few little dinosaur bits and bobs, but apart from that, the room was covered in photos of Liam or hanging accolades of achievements. Louis rolled his eyes as he looked around. Photos of Liam graduating secondary school. Photos of Liam when he was a bit younger in what was clearly some shopping mall glamour studio. Liam with friends.

There were two little frames on the bedside table that caught Louis’ attention. Louis sat on the bed and picked one of them up.

He could tell it was Liam, but he was very young, maybe ten. He was with some other kid with big old glasses and, if Louis was not mistaken, they were at the Natural History Museum. Louis’ heart wrenched, which irritated him. He was not prepared to feel any kind of emotion towards Liam, especially not soft ones.

Picking up the second photo just made it worse. 

It was what seemed to be a fairly recent photo of Liam, beaming widely, his arm around an old woman who Louis assumed was his grandmother. Louis’ heart melted. He couldn’t help it. He almost didn’t want to read the little card that was standing up behind the frame.

_ ‘My dear, sweet Liam, _

_ Thank you for taking me to the ballet as my birthday treat, it is an evening I will always treasure. Good luck at university, my darling. Love, Granny. Xx’ _

Louis quickly put it back, as he was welling up. 

“I wonder why he didn’t take this with him,” Louis mused as he turned the frame over to see one more puzzle piece. “Ooh, yes!”

There was nothing on the back of the piece, and so Louis deduced that it was the last piece. As he put the frame back where it belonged, he heard a key in the door downstairs.

“Fuck!” 

He zapped himself home. He appeared in his bedroom - he absently assured himself that he would work on his accuracy - and he dashed down into the living room.

“Found them.”

“Put them in!”

“Alright… I found this one stuffed in a drawer of dinosaur crap.”

Jay took it and inspected it. 

“Ah.” She pressed it into the gap in Liam’s heel. “It’s his Achilles’ heel.”

“Dinosaurs?”

“Weakness, downfall?” Jay tilted her head and shrugged. “Maybe he got bullied for liking dinosaurs.”

“Maybe,” Louis mused. “That’s why it was all stuffed into a drawer? This was in his uni flat.”

“A university student with dinosaur paraphernalia?” Jay nodded. “Definitely a guilty pleasure.”

“Hmm.” Louis shrugged as he held out the next piece. “This one I discovered when I found out that Liam is in science club with Zayn. Like, my best friend was hanging out with my enemy.”

Jay looked at him, unimpressed. “I don’t think that was the intended lesson. But I think this piece goes in his head.”

“I guess I didn’t think that Liam was brainy. Or interested in science.”

“I think there’s probably a lot you don’t know about him.”

“True.” Louis sighed. “You don’t expect a bully to be into, like, dinosaurs and science.”

“Maybe that’s why he bullies. Because he was bullied himself. I think that’s often the case with bullies.”

Louis’ heart panged uncomfortably. “Maybe.”

Jay cleared her throat. “Any more?”

“Ah.” Louis held up the last piece. “I found this one behind a very sweet picture of Liam and his grandmother. There was a card with a lovely message in it. This piece has got to be his heart.”

Louis pressed the piece into place, feeling satisfied for a split second before realising he was missing a piece.

“Wait!” he cried, panic rising inside of him, taking over his entire body. “What the hell? How can I be missing a piece?”

Someone cleared their throat, and Louis looked behind to see Simon, head of the Witches Council standing over him.

“Okay, look, you completed the Liam puzzle. But that last piece doesn’t exist yet. It’s Liam’s compassion for others. You have to gradually fill it by showing compassion for Liam, even when he doesn’t show it for you.”

“Right,” Louis groaned, rolling his eyes. “So what you’re saying, is…” 

“Learn to work together.”

“Is magic really here just to teach me social lessons?”

Simon popped away in a puff of smoke without another word. Louis rolled his eyes again and looked at his mother.

“You used an illegal spell,” Jay told him. “The council are just trying to get through to you why it was illegal.”

“Fine. I get it. And I’ve definitely learned more about who Liam is today.”

“Good,” Jay said, nodding. “Now, stand back.”

She clicked her fingers and the jigsaw puzzle started to swell, bringing Liam back to human form. Once he was physically back to normal, he abruptly sat upright, staring at Jay in terror before turning to Louis.

“You?” he scoffed, clambering to his feet. “Am I in your house?!”

“You came over to, um, borrow my notes from a lecture.”

Liam blinked at him, disbelievingly. “Like I’d take anything from you.”

“Well-”

“I’m getting out of here.” Liam shook his head. “I don’t know how you got me here, or why, but just… stay away from me.”

Liam practically ran for the front door and once it banged shut, Louis turned to his mother and raised his eyebrows. 

“Funny,” Jay mused. “He looked like he’d be nicer.”


	2. 2

Louis was trying his best, really he was, but Liam was testing his patience, big time.

“If the idea of touching you didn’t make me throw up in my mouth, I’d come over there and fucking show you.” Liam shook his head, glaring menacingly. “Arms up at a  _ forty-five degree angle,  _ for fuck’s sake! Did you fail maths?”

Louis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s awkward and clunky like that, Liam. I don’t know why you think you’re the bloody boss.”

“Because I know best.”

Louis cleared his throat and held his arms up at a forty-five degree angle.

“Not quite right, is it?” Liam sighed, exasperated. “We’re gonna be here forever.”

Liam looked quite genuinely troubled by that, which gave Louis an idea.

“I hope not,” Louis said with a dramatic sigh. “I really wanted to finish early here so I could go and visit my grandmother.”

Liam froze. “Oh.”

“I’m meant to help her with her shopping,” Louis explained.

Liam looked at the floor before clenching his eyes shut and sighing. He opened his eyes and walked over to Louis.

“So, I just think it would look cool if you were like this.” Liam held Louis’ arms and moved them slightly. “And if you do it like this, it’s probably easier to move into the next bit.”

Liam walked Louis through exactly how he saw it, and Louis had to agree that it was easier now that he understood what Liam had been trying to bark at him this whole time.

“Oh, you’re right. You weren’t explaining it very well.”

Liam glared at him. “Shut up. Look, learn your lines. Your delivery is sloppy. I’m going home.”

Louis nodded. “Thanks, Liam. See, you can be nice. Once in a blue moon.”

Liam glanced at him before hurrying out of the classroom.

-

“I just can’t believe it.”

“Will you let it go?” Zayn shook his head, stubbornly focusing on the TV. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d react, well, like this.”

“But  _ Liam? _ Really?”

Zayn rolled his eyes and groaned. “Oh, God, Louis! What do you expect me to do? Tell him to not come to science club? Not go myself just because it might upset you?”

“That’s not fair,” Louis retorted. “I’m not angry at you spending time with him, I just can’t believe you’d want to.”

“Look.” Zayn sat up and raised his eyebrows at Louis. “Yeah, he is a dickhead a lot of the time. But, I mean, we’re not socialising. We’re talking about science. He has a passion for it, I love it… like, there’s not much room for him to be a prick when you’re discussing photosynthesis.”

“Alright, fine. I’m sorry.”

Zayn cracked a tiny smile. “And, you know, I think it’s mostly you he’s got it in for, because even when he’s a prick, he’s not as much of a prick as he is when you’re around.”

Louis shrugged and checked his nails. “Yeah, well. I think he’s jealous of my relationship.”

“You think you have the most attractive boyfriend in the world.”

Louis looked at Zayn indignantly. “I do!”

“He’s not here, he can’t hear you.”

“Stop,” Louis said with a laugh. “Are you going out tonight? I need to start studying for end of year exams.”

“It’s Thursday.” Zayn stretched his limbs and yawned. “I always go out on Thursdays.”

-

Harry, like Zayn, always went out on Thursdays. Tonight had been no different, until Louis showed up at his door with a four-pack of beers and some Doritos. 

“You’re staying in,” Louis said as Harry opened the door.

Harry looked Louis up and down slowly, smirking. “Alright.”

Louis threw his backpack down on Harry’s bed. “I’m here to study. And you’re studying too.”

“Lou!” Harry whined. “But…”

“No buts. And no boyfriendy stuff until we’ve done at least a bit of work.” Louis shook his head when Harry pouted at him. “We have exams, Harry.”

“Fine.”

They sat close together on Harry’s bed as they studied. Louis looked over his notes for the showcase before turning to his Writing In Performance notes. As much as he was the one enforcing this, he was barely in the mood. His eyes were starting to cross after twenty minutes.

“I need some sugar,” Harry whined. “Can I go to Tesco?”

“I’m not the boss of you,” Louis remarked.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Harry said with a sigh. 

“Behave.” Louis rolled his eyes and got off the bed. “I’ve got some M&M’s in my bag.”

He hunched over his backpack with his back to Harry and pointed into his bag. He pulled the bag of chocolate out and threw it over to Harry.

“I thought you said you had M&M’s.”

Louis felt a wave of dread. What had he just conjured? He didn’t even look at the bag. He looked over to Harry.

“I mean, N&N’s?” Harry smirked. “Where did you buy these?”

Louis let out a little relieved laugh. “Uh, Lidl, I think. I don’t know. My mum’s always after a bargain.”

Harry giggled as he ripped the top off the bag. “Hopefully they taste the same.”

Louis watched Harry throw a handful of N&N’s into his mouth. He was starting to forget what they were here to do, wanting instead to turn his entire attention on Harry and have Harry’s entire attention on him. 

“Maybe we should take a break from studying.”

Harry brightened. “Yeah?”

“Yup.” Louis got back on the bed and sat close to Harry. “Let’s just relax.”

Louis stifled a laugh at Harry’s face. He wore a bright, wide grin and Louis reckoned he looked like a kid in a sweet shop.

“Okay, well, you don’t need to look as if I’ve never kissed you before.”

“I think about our first kiss a lot, you know.”

Louis looked away. “Yeah. So do I.”

“I’d like to think about our next kiss, too.”

Louis chuckled quietly as they closed the space between each other. Harry’s mouth was hot, and he was clearly eager. Louis absently wondered if he had been anticipating this ever since he had arrived. If he knew Harry, he probably had been. When Louis pulled away, Harry chased him, pressing a last kiss to his mouth.

“Harry,” Louis whispered, their mouths barely apart. “We- We have to study.”

“Just wanna study you.”

Louis laughed quietly before pulling fully away.

“That’s it,” he said. “I can’t kiss you after that cheesy line.”

“Lou!” Harry whined, laughing. “Aww.”

Louis wiped his mouth and straightened out his t-shirt. “Well, I’ll make it up to you when you pass your exam.”

“You’re the worst boyfriend ever!”

Louis squawked indignantly and snatched the bag of N&N’s from where Harry had wedged them between his thighs.

“I’m taking these back.” He looked in the bag. “You bloody melted them!”

-

“Oh, yeah. You can’t conjure brand names,” Niall said casually as he rolled around on Louis’ bed indulgently. Louis watched him in morbid fascination, feeling a little sick. “Don’t conjure Coke. The other realm knock off really sucks.”

“There’s restrictions on  _ everything.” _ Louis sighed, throwing himself down on the bed and accidentally sitting on Niall’s tail. “Sorry.”

“Well, if you could just conjure anything, no one would have to go to work. Businesses would go under, there would be no service industry… the world would collapse.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

“You know, you act like you’re the first witch to ever grace the planet. Magic is a sacred and ancient art, perfected and structured over tens of thousands of years.”

“I might get a job over the summer,” Louis mused, ignoring Niall. “Otherwise, me and Harry might not be able to do fun stuff.”

Niall rolled onto his paws, jumped off the bed and left the room, muttering. Louis made a face in his wake and shifted into a more comfortable position on his bed. He picked up his phone to see a notification from his magic app.

_ ‘You have a new message!’ _

He hummed as he swiped the notification. When he did, a girl around his age popped into his room in a swirl of pink glitter.

“Hello,” she said in a Geordie accent, checking her nails. “I’m Jade.”

“Hi,” Louis said. “And what are you doing in my bedroom?”

Jade looked up at him. “I’m here to test you for your witch's licence.”

“What?” Louis said, his heart beginning to thump. “But I’m not supposed to be tested until the end of the year.”

Jade rolled her eyes openly. “You’re gonna be tested every now and then up until your final exam. Don’t you know anything?”

“Well, I was brought up here in the mortal realm, so-”

“Anyway,” Jade said, interrupting. “Let’s get straight to it. First test: You need to turn me into six degrees of magical separation.”

Louis blinked at her. “What are you on about?”

“Honestly!” She sighed, folding her arms. “Use a spell to turn me into something, then turn me into something else, and turn me back into me within six spells. But your incantations have to link to each other.”

“I still don’t get it.”

“God!” Jade growled. “I can’t hand feed you. You’ll have to work it out.”

“I don’t have time,” Louis whined. “I’m in university, you know. I do have other exams to study for.”

Jade fixed him with a hard stare.

“Okay,” Louis relented. “Let me think.”

_ Turn her into something. Linked incantations.  _ Louis furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean by link, anyway?”

“Use your judgement. That’s part of what this is all about.”

_ “Jade is here, she’s winding me up, turn her into a cute little pup.” _

Jade shrunk right down into a tiny little puppy, small enough to fit in Louis’ hand. He picked her up and stuck his bottom lip out.

“Aww, you’re so cute! Can’t I keep you like this?”

Jade growled, the most menacing noise she could manage, which of course wasn’t menacing at all. Louis laughed loudly.

“Okay, okay. Um…maybe you mean I have to reference the previous incantation in the next one.  _ Jade is cute, I prefer her like this, but turn her into a bag of crisps.” _

Jade the puppy yelped as she shrivelled up into a bag of off-brand salt and vinegar. 

“I have half a mind to eat you.”

Jade was a bag of crisps. She had no way of responding. 

“Okay, that’s two. And I have to get you back to you with the sixth one. Think.” He nodded.  _ “I want to eat her, that won’t do, turn her into a stick of glue.” _

Louis watched as Jade transformed once again. 

“This is such a dumb test. You just wanna hear my shitty rhymes.” Louis threw Jade the glue stick onto the bed and sighed.  _ “Unlike glue, I’m hoping Jade won’t stick around, turn her into a shiny pound.” _

The glue stick turned into a pound coin. Louis needed to concentrate, now. Only two spells left. Whatever he turned Jade into next, he needed to get her back to human form with the following spell.

_ “Money can’t buy me love, turn Jade into a beautiful dove.” _

That didn’t go to plan. She turned into a dove, and a beautiful one at that, but something must have spooked her because she started to flap around the room as if it were on fire. 

“Calm down, Jade!” Louis said. “God’s sake.”

Jade landed on top of Louis’ wardrobe and preened herself nervously.

“Jade, I have to turn you back with the next spell. Do you really wanna become human again on top of a wardrobe?”

Jade cooed tensely but didn’t move. Louis shrugged.

“Suit yourself.” Louis stopped to think. “Jade’s so… wait. A dove is like a… no.”

Jade cooed desperately.

“Alright, I’m thinking!” Louis glared up at the dove. “Okay, how about this.  _ Jade hates being a bird and I’ll feel her scorn, change her back into human form.” _

Jade grew bigger until she was back in her original body, and she promptly fell off the top of the wardrobe.

“Oh my God!” Louis said, rushing over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jade said quickly, standing up and brushing herself off.

“I did tell you.”

“Look, I…” She scoffed. “I just really hate birds, okay?”

“Sorry,” Louis said, trying not to smirk. “So? How did I do?”

“Yeah, you did well. A good variety of transformations. People tend to stick to a theme, but you were a little more inventive.”

“Cool! What exactly does a task like that even test for?”

“These periodical tests just gauge the kind of witch you’re shaping up to be. You’ll be seeing a bit more of me.” Jade looked in the mirror and fixed her hair. “They won’t all be this easy. See ya.”

“Jade, wait.”

“What?”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “You pooed on my carpet.”

“I did what?” Jade looked down before blushing furiously as the splotch of bird poo. “I told you, I was nervous!”

She pointed her finger, and a pink glittery shot of sparks ridded Louis’ carpet of the poo, and even cleared up a neighbouring blood stain from a nose bleed Louis had suffered a few weeks ago.

“Thanks!”

Jade sighed.  _ “To apologise to Louis for my behaviour as a bird, send him a gift to satisfy his inner nerd.” _

“That’s sweet,” Louis said, clutching his chest. “Except, I’m a drama student. My nerd is all outer.”

“Don’t put anything past the magic within,” Jade said, before lifting her arms, twirling, and disappearing in a puff of glitter.

-

Louis kept forgetting about Jade’s spell and, after a week, he had mostly written it off as a dud. He had a date with Harry, but Harry had to cancel because his hay fever had worsened and his medication knocked him out for the night. Louis found himself staying home with his mum, instead.

“So, I mean, we’re back to a human rights issue here,” Louis said. “She just popped into my room! What if I’d have been naked? Or… or worse.”

“As much as I don’t want to tell my children to ignore violations of their privacy, I feel like I have to in this instance.” Jay smiled at him placatingly. “Just… you’re very unlikely to actually find someone pop up when you’re naked or having a wee, or whatever. There’s a sort of… sixth sense. Subconscious knowledge.”

“Really? Because when I was looking for pieces of Liam, I was popping in and out all over the place without any kind of hesitation.”

“Did you pop in on anyone naked or otherwise violated their privacy?”

“No…” Louis shrugged. “But, like…”

“Magic is in your bones, Louis. It flows through your veins. It’s not just spells and potions and other things you learn. It’s what you’re made of.” Jay pointed at him. “You need to learn to fall back on your instinct once in a while. That’s my motherly advice for the day.”

“I wish I could’ve done that on this bloody test that Jade gave me. I barely even knew what she meant.”

Jay rolled her eyes. “Yes, well. You fell back on instinct to work it out.”

“Did I?”

“Sounds like it.”

“Oh. Great.” Louis grinned. “Thanks for the advice.”

“You’re welcome.”

They fell silent for a few minutes before Louis piped up.

“Oh, um. I’m thinking of getting a job. Just, like, for the summer.”

“That’s nice. Did you have anything in mind?”

“Mm, not really. I’d think the cafe looked kind of fun, if Liam didn’t work there, I mean.”

Jay picked up her glass of wine from the table. “You could always look for an other realm job. You might find a little pocket money job that could be fun. You might appreciate it for the novelty value, whereas other realm teens tend to find them boring.”

“So you want me to do the crappy jobs that witch teens don’t want?”

“I’m telling you, you’d find them fun.”

“Well, like what?”

-

“You want me to be the sandman?”

_ “A _ sandman.” The recruitment agent rolled her eyes. 

“Well, what does it entail?” Louis smiled sheepishly when the agent frowned. “I’m from the mortal realm, so…”

“Okay, it’s a bit like a paper round. You put the people in your neighbourhood to sleep at night. Doesn’t pay much, not many hours, but it’s better than nothing.”

“I’ll take it!”

“It starts immediately,” the agent replied.

“Fine,” Louis said with a shrug. “Putting people to sleep seems like it’ll be quick and easy.”

-

Louis was on his third house, about to sprinkle sand over a kid, but the kid was throwing such a tantrum that Louis hesitated so he could watch.

“Mum!” the little boy screamed. “I want a drink!”

“You’ve had one,” a voice called from downstairs.

“I’ll  _ die!” _ the kid yelled. “I’ll be a  _ skeleton!” _

Louis chuckled as quietly as he could as he dipped into his sandbag. He sprinkled a pinch over the kid who calmed almost immediately. Louis smiled down on him, reaching down to tuck him in. His finger brushed the boy’s shoulder, and suddenly Louis found himself in a strange room full of cats.

“Uh…” Louis looked around. “What the fu- uh, what the flip?”

He heard giggling coming from his right, and he realised the kid was next to him, being crawled all over by kittens. Louis reached out for a cat with both hands, but once he wasn’t in physical contact with the kid anymore, he reappeared in his room.

“What?” Louis whispered. “Don’t tell me I was in his dream.”

Louis pressed a finger to the boy’s shoulder and was once again in the room of cats. 

“Fuck!” Louis said with a laugh. “Wild.”

Louis released the child and headed off to his next house. The randoms in his neighbourhood didn’t interest him, so he sent them to sleep promptly and got on his way. Until he found himself in Zayn’s bedroom.

It felt like a violation enough to even be here, but Louis guessed that someone had to do it. Louis sprinkled some sand over Zayn’s eyes, but he didn’t even flinch. A little bit more, and Zayn at least closed his eyes. A third dose, and he turned onto his side. Louis stayed for a few minutes to check if Zayn fell asleep but he still didn’t, tossing and turning a dozen times until Louis used a fourth, larger dose.

Zayn finally fell asleep, but continued to fidget and was clearly generally restless. Louis bit his bottom lip, debating moving on, but he couldn’t help himself. He placed a hand on Zayn’s back.

Zayn was in a classroom, but it didn’t look like anywhere on campus. Louis guessed it was probably Zayn’s secondary school, or something. Zayn was sitting at a desk, bags under his eyes and chewing the inside of his cheek, bouncing his knee compulsively. He looked down, and a test paper appeared on his desk. 

“But I haven’t studied!” he cried, looking around even though nobody else was there. He looked down, and realised with a scream that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. 

Louis covered his eyes and peeked at Zayn’s face through his fingers. He looked seconds away from bursting into tears, but then the room dematerialised, Zayn was clothed again, and they were in some random bedroom. Louis realised with a start that Liam was in the room with them.

Liam approached Zayn, reached a hand out and wrapped it around the back of his neck. With no hesitation, Zayn leaned in to kiss him. At the last second, Liam stepped away and began to laugh. Laugh heartily and loudly. The other guys from the science club, that Louis had seen with Zayn that day, appeared and started to laugh and point at Zayn, who started to cry, wailing loudly. Louis felt himself tear up. Seeing his best friend in distress was horrible, even if it was just a dream. He removed his hand from Zayn’s back and found himself back in Zayn’s bedroom. Zayn was whimpering quietly and Louis forced himself to move on.

He did a few more rounds before arriving home, his mother the last job of the night. She was already asleep, but he had been told he still needed to sand sleeping people to ensure they stay asleep. He sprinkled the sand onto her head before turning to leave. As he reached the door, he looked back.

Couldn’t hurt to just… see.

He placed his hand on her arm and almost withdrew it immediately when he appeared in her dream to the sight of his mother - in much younger form - snogging some bloke. He paused when they parted and he saw the guy’s face.

“Is that… no!”

“Oh, Jimmy,” Jay purred.

“Ugh,” Louis muttered.

Jay turned around at the noise and widened her eyes.

“Louis William Tomlinson! Get the fuck out of my dream!”

Louis withdrew his hand and dashed into his room, slamming the door shut. It took less than a minute for Jay to wake up and come into his room without knocking.

“Louis, what on earth do you think you’re doing?”

“It was weird to hear you swear.” 

“Don’t change the subject, Louis.” Jay folded her arms and shook her head. “I’m furious with you. You know, as someone who seems to be so concerned about the magical world violating everybody’s privacy, I didn’t expect you to be a dreamdropper.”

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it.” Louis wrung his hands and looked at the floor. “It’s addictive.”

“Well, that is a massive violation of privacy. Huge. People dream about their deepest, darkest desires, worries, emotions. It’s not alright, Louis.”

“Sorry, Mum.” He glanced at her to see that her anger seemed to have dissipated with his apology, so he smiled. “Was that James Dean?”

“Louis!”

“Did you fancy him?” Louis cocked an eyebrow. “You do know he was gay?”

“He wasn’t gay, he was…” Jay cleared her throat. “It was… complicated.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t… know him, did you?”

Jay nervously fixed her hair. “All I will say is that he certainly wasn’t gay when I knew him. Stop dreamdropping!”

Louis stared at his mother in disbelief as she headed for the door. As she crossed the threshold, she turned to him.

“Stop looking at me like that.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Goodnight.”

-

It must have been something to do with the sandman job rather than being a witch, Louis mused, because he had most definitely been pressed against Harry when he had been asleep and hadn’t ended up in his dream. There must have been a reason the sandman could see into people’s dreams, but Louis would have to ask his mum later.

For now, Louis was standing over Harry and wondering if it would really be so awful if he went into his dream. Okay, so it  _ would _ be awful of him. Louis was about to walk away when Harry mumbled something.

“Louis,” he said, quiet and muffled, but there was no mistaking it. “Lou…”

Louis bit his lip and reached out. He hesitated, before pressing his hand to Harry’s shoulder. A niggling part of him felt bad for it, but Harry was saying his name. He was calling him into his dream.

Although Louis anticipated he would find himself already in the dream, and he did, he wasn’t prepared for the scene in front of him. His dream self was straddling Harry, topless, and looking considerably more buff than his real-life counterpart. Louis felt a tickle of indignation, but that wasn’t the only tickle he felt as he watched his dream self kissing Harry heatedly, writhing on top of him. It was both indecent and delightful, and as much as he wanted to pull himself out of the dream, he couldn’t bring himself to.

His dream self broke the kiss, instead attaching his mouth to behind Harry’s left ear. Harry purred - actually purred - before letting out a quiet moan.

“Oh, Lou.”

“Is that nice?” Louis’ dream form asked.

“Yes,” Harry said, desperate yet quiet.

Louis’ dream hands started to move down Harry’s body, and Louis removed his hand from real Harry’s shoulder. He was jerked back into Harry’s quiet, dark bedroom, and he stared down at Harry’s sleeping form, breathless.

He should probably have expected  _ that _ to be the content of the dream, but it still took him by surprise. Harry was an adolescent boy, of course he was thinking of that stuff. 

Louis resolved to remember that ear thing for later.

-

When they saw each other the next day, Louis felt rather sheepish and to be honest, Harry seemed to feel the same. 

He was all smiles and giggles, which was adorable, and distracted Louis even further than the whole dream thing had already done. They met up for lunch, deciding on going to the cafe. When Louis realised that Liam was on shift, he shuffled his chair around the table to sit next to Harry.

“I had a dream about you last night,” he lied, whispering into Harry’s ear.

“You did?” Harry replied, voice trembling ever so slightly. “Kinda weird. I had one about you.”

“Oh?” Louis said, leaning back to look at Harry’s face. “What was it about?”

“Huh?” Harry asked, clearly buying for time. “We were just kissing and stuff.”

“I see,” Louis said. “Same. Well, mine was a bit more focused on the ‘and stuff’.”

Harry grinned, nervous energy radiating off him as his cheeks turned red. Louis felt a rush. He loved making Harry’s heart pound.

“I missed you on Friday night,” Louis said, his mouth still next to Harry’s ear. “I should’ve come over and kept you company.”

“I was asleep, remember? I wouldn’t have been the best company.”

“Fair. Still missed you, though.” Louis pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the skin behind Harry’s ear. “I can’t wait for summer.”

“Me neither.” Harry scraped his chair back to look at Louis. “We have to study though. Wanna study tonight?”

“Yes, I’d love to study.”

-

They were once again sitting on Harry’s bed, studying, when Harry let out a gasp.

“What happened?” Louis asked.

“I just remembered! I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh?” Louis asked, brightening.

“Someone in one of my classes knows someone who gave them tickets to a musical, but he doesn’t want them. I thought it sounded right up your street.”

“What musical?”

Harry pulled the tickets out of a textbook and handed them to Louis.

“Mamma Mia?” Louis screeched. “ABBA?!”

“Yeah!” Harry said with a laugh. “There’s two, I thought we could go together.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Well, I wasn’t gonna take my mum instead. This is great, Harry, thank you. I didn’t even know I’d told you how much I love ABBA. They’re my guilty pleasure.”

“Ah, I think I’ve probably seen more of your inner nerd than you think.”

Inner nerd. Louis almost laughed. Jade’s gift had finally arrived. Lovely. Not only was he going to see the ABBA musical, but he got to look forward to a date with his boy, too.

-

Louis came out of the toilets near the campus library and found Jade waiting for him, checking her nails.

“Oh, no,” Louis groaned. “What do you want? Another test?”

Jade threw him a dirty look. “I just came to see if my gift arrived.”

“Oh!” Louis smiled. “It did. Thank you.”

“Cool! What was it?”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Tickets for Mamma Mia.”

“The film?”

“The musical.”

“Oh, right. Well, time for a test.”

“What?!” Louis sighed. “I have a lecture to get to, so if you could make it quick.”

“Alright. What two types of potion should you never, ever mix?”

“Huh?” Louis shook his head. “I have no idea. How would I know that kind of thing? I only came into my powers a few months ago.”

“Sounds like you need to study!” Jade wiggled her fingers and her signature pink glitter filled the air. “Potions theory is very important. I’ll be back to test you soon.”

She popped out in a flash of glitter and Louis looked around, alarmed. Luckily, nobody had seen her disappear into thin air. He sighed.

“Like I don’t have enough bloody studying to do,” Louis mumbled, walking around the corner and walking straight into Zayn. “Oh.”

“Hiya, mate. Who were you talking to?”

“Myself.” Louis playfully swatted Zayn on the arm. “How’s it going?”

“Can’t complain,” Zayn said with a shrug. “Just heading over to meet the science club guys, but I’m a bit tired. Not sure I can be bothered.”

Louis suddenly remembered Zayn’s dream and leaned against the wall.

“So, how’s that all going?” He smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry about the way I reacted before.”

“Ah, it’s alright. I knew you would.” Zayn cracked a smile. “Yeah, it’s going fine.”

“You’re getting along with everyone?”

Zayn shot him a look. “I told you, Liam is-”

“Everyone, Z, not just him.”

“Oh. Yeah, we get along fine. I was nervous when we first all met up, but they’re down to earth people. I mean, they’re science geeks. They’re not intimidating.”

Louis wanted to reply _ not even Liam? _ But he didn’t want to see Zayn’s reaction if he brought up Liam yet again. Instead he nodded and smiled.

“That’s great! I’m so happy you’ve made more friends.”

“Hm,” Zayn hummed, looking Louis up and down. “I bet. Frees up more of your time for Harry.”

“That’s not true!” Louis said, giggling slightly. “Don’t say that. In fact, the three of us should go on a night out. And I don’t mean some house party. Out out.”

“Oh, you don’t want me hanging around.” Zayn checked his watch. “I really have to go. But text me, we’ll go for dinner soon.”

Louis waved him off before pulling out his phone. He had a text from Harry, which just detailed what he had for lunch. Louis smiled to himself, pocketing his phone and he headed to his lecture.

-

It was imperative that he studied. He knew that.

But instead of going home on Friday night, Louis stayed with Harry. Okay, he studied for his uni exams, but he couldn’t study for any of Jade’s little spot tests. He just hoped Jade wouldn’t pop into Harry’s kitchen, or something.

It was Saturday morning, and Harry stayed in bed while Louis made the tea. He was scrolling through the Potions section of his Magic Book app, just in case, using magic to stir the tea with his free hand. 

“Hey,” Harry said, startling Louis so much that he dropped his phone. “I needed to get up for a wee, and figured I might as well come out if I’m getting up.”

Louis bent down to pick up his phone. “Oh.”

“I must still be half asleep, ‘cause I thought I saw the teas stirring themselves!” Harry chuckled quietly to himself. “What are you looking at so intensely?”

“Oh, just playing a game.” Louis quickly pocketed his phone. “How are you?”

“Good,” Harry replied, smiling stupidly.

“I  _ wanted _ to bring you breakfast in bed.”

“Mmm, burnt toast.”

“Hey!” Louis protested. “I’m good at making breakfast. Do you know how hard it is to burn toast?”

“Um…” Harry shook his head as he picked up his cup of tea. “Not very?”

“I literally put bread in and push the lever down. It’s really hard to fuck that up. If it burns, it’s really not my fault.” Louis shrugged. “You need a new toaster.”

“Let’s not fight on this glorious morning.” Harry sighed contently and carefully hugged Louis, trying not to spill tea on him. “What should we do today?”

“I can stay for a bit, but I really do need to go home,” Louis said regretfully. “I promised my mum.”

“Okay.” Harry pulled away and pouted. “What about Sunday? Free?”

“I’ll make some time for you,” Louis said indulgently, kissing Harry’s cheek. 

-

“Aw, bring him for dinner!” Jay said enthusiastically. “I’d love to meet him properly. Last time I saw Harry, he was a frog.”

“I know, but…” Louis pressed his lips together. “It’s not like I don’t want you to meet him, Mum, but weird stuff happens in this house. Stuff you and I barely notice but a mortal would most definitely notice.”

“Like what?”

“Last week, I saw a mouse in the bathroom.”

“And?”

“It teased me for squeezing a spot!”

“So, we’ll get other realm pest control in.”

Louis shook his head. “And the other day, I went into the dining room and saw two ghosts playing catch with a peach.”

“I get your point.” Jay shrugged. “But you can’t live your life in fear of these things. You’ve had him here before, and you’ve had Zayn round, too. If you want to live in the mortal realm, Louis, you have to learn to work around these obstacles.”

“How?”

Jay smiled serenely. “A mortal realm witch’s best friend. The spell to erase memory.”

Louis sighed.” It can’t be good for them, though. All these spells. Aren’t there adverse effects of erasing memory, or anything?”

Jay shrugged. “Nothing to get too worried about, darling. As long as it’s not  _ all _ the time, there’s no harm.”

-

Harry didn’t look as awkward as Louis felt. He was completely on edge that something untoward and  _ magical _ was going to happen. Niall was as much of a risk as anything. Louis could hear him grumbling under his breath under the table where he had been relegated to for his dinner. Louis just couldn’t afford for Harry to think he was weird enough to have the cat eating at the dinner table.

“This house is so cool,” Harry told Jay. “So gothic and creepy.”

“It’s what drew me to it,” Jay agreed. “It just felt like me.”

“Apparently I don’t matter,” Louis joked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Harry replied with a grin. “There’s something… mysterious, and a little bit sinister about you.”

Louis laughed in surprise.  _ “Sinister, _ Harry?”

“Not in a bad way.” Harry glanced sideways at Jay. “Maybe that was the wrong word.”

“So,” Jay said quickly. “You’re studying music?”

“Yes,” Harry replied, relief of the change of subject evident in his tone. “I went to uni just wanting to sing, but there’s so many other things I could do, it’s overwhelming.”

“He plays guitar,” Louis interjected.

Niall meowed sadly under the table, and Louis kicked him.

“I’m toying with songwriting, too,” Harry admitted. 

“Well,” Jay said. “Louis, you never told me your boyfriend was a rock star.”

Louis smirked. “Alright. Calm down, Mum.”

“Not until I graduate,” Harry said with a laugh.

The rest of dinner went fine, and Louis and Harry retired to Louis’ room after Jay insisted on not having any help with the washing up. Louis knew she would use a spell, anyway, but he had offered to keep up appearances. 

Louis sat in his armchair, and Harry immediately sat on his lap.

“So?” Louis prompted.

“What?”

_ “Sinister, _ Harry?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Harry sighed. “I just meant, like… I don’t know. I feel like you would kill people in a minute if you needed to to protect the people you love. And, I mean, I just feel a bit like when I’m with you, anything could happen.”

Louis glanced at Niall, who had just jumped onto the bed. He felt a bit uneasy about his presence, considering that he and Harry were cuddling, and that Harry thought they were alone. Louis squeezed Harry’s waist.

“You make me sound unpredictable. Or worse, flaky.”

“Aww, you’re not flaky.” Harry kissed him. “I can’t put my finger on it, but something about being with you is exciting.”

Harry had no idea. No idea he had been turned into a frog, or Liam into a jigsaw puzzle. Maybe one day he would be able to tell Harry that he was a witch. Tell him about all the weird things he had encountered. Be honest with him. Because, if Louis was being real, it sort of ate him up inside that he was keeping things from him. He knew he didn’t have much of a choice, but it wasn’t fair for Harry to suffer the consequences of Louis’ magic and not have any clue.

He wondered if the things that happened to Harry affected him, deep down, even if he didn’t remember them.

Louis was pulled out of his thoughts, and out of the gorgeous feeling of Harry’s mouth on his neck, by a loud  _ bang _ that came from downstairs.

“Uh…” Louis leapt up, nearly knocking Harry to the floor. “I’d better see if my mum’s okay. Stay here.”

Louis rushed to the door, sternly calling Niall to follow him. Niall, with a glance back at a confused Harry, reluctantly followed. Louis closed his bedroom door firmly before the two of them made their way downstairs.

“What’s going on?” Louis walked into the kitchen to see all the pots and pans from dinner strewn across the floor. “Are you okay?”

“I levitated the clean dishes from the draining board so that I could wipe it down and I got distracted and dropped them all.” Jay wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “It’s okay.”

Louis frowned and pointed at the pots and pans, levitating them back to the draining board.

“If everything’s okay, why are you clutching your hand like that?”

Jay looked at him. “A saucepan fell on my hand.”

“Let me see,” Niall said, jumping up onto the counter as Jay held out her hand. “Ouch. That’s gonna bruise.”

“Yep, thank you,” Jay said, irritated. “Sorry to disturb you, Louis.”

“They were getting intimate up there,” Niall said.

“No, we weren’t!” Louis protested.

“You’re eighteen, darling,” Jay said. “It’s none of my business.”

“We weren’t. As if I’d let Niall stay in the room.”

“Please,” Niall scoffed. “I had to endure watching Harry sucking your neck.”

“He wasn’t…” Louis cleared his throat and made his way towards the stairs. “He wasn’t  _ sucking  _ it.”

He ran upstairs, entered his room and slammed the door shut behind him before Niall could follow.

“Everything okay?” Harry asked, legs draped over the arm of the chair.

“Yeah. My mum just dropped a load of stuff. Everything’s sorted.”

Harry swung his legs off of the chair and dropped his feet to the floor, parting his legs.

“Come here.”

Louis approached him and sat on the floor between his legs. Harry began to rub his shoulders.

“I’ll miss you when I go home in July.”

Louis sighed. Harry was going home for two weeks in July, and Louis was dreading it. Zayn was staying put, so it wasn’t as if Louis wouldn’t have anybody. But, with Harry going away, Louis just knew he would feel like he had chopped off his arm, or something.

“Me, too.” Louis smiled sadly to himself. “I tell you what, though. I’ll be glad when exams are over.”

Harry hummed in agreement, leaning down to kiss Louis’ head. Louis closed his eyes. Just being here with Harry, quiet and warm, was bliss. Everything was disturbed when a swishing sound made Louis open his eyes, and he saw a flash of pink glitter before Jade materialised. 

_ “What the fu-” _

“Freeze!” Louis cried, pointing behind him to Harry. Harry froze on the spot, and Louis untangled himself from Harry’s grasp and approached Jade. “You can’t just pop in here whenever you want to, you know! He’s a mortal.”

“You’ll put a memory spell on him and you’ll be fine.”

“I don’t like putting spells on him unless I have to. It’s dishonest.”

“That’s sweet,” Jade said with a wrinkle of the nose. “But this isn’t a morality test, is it? It’s a magic test.”

“Go on, then.” Louis sighed and sat down on the bed. “What’s the test?”

“Same as before. Two types of potion you should never mix.”

“Now, last time, you made it sound like there was just one answer, but I think there’s a few answers.”

“Like…?”

“Well, it’s common sense you should never mix a stimulating spell with a depressant. So… like, energy potions and sleeping potions.”

“True. Do you know why?”

“It’s bad for the heart.” Louis smiled and laid back on his bed. “Same reason vodka Red Bull is a bad drink.”

Jade looked at him, unimpressed. “Alright. Anything else?”

“Um…” Louis searched his mind. He had read about it on his app. He was at Harry’s… Harry was giving him a foot rub… “Memory spells! Memory potions shouldn’t be mixed with anything else that alters the mind, like anti-anxiety potions, intelligence spells, that sort of thing.”

“And why not?”

“Altering brain function has the side effect of cancelling out the memory potion because you strengthen the brain which makes it too difficult for the memory potion to truly take hold.”

“I’m impressed!” Jade said, nodding. “Well done.”

“Thanks. Now, can you get out of here so I can unfreeze my boyfriend and give him one of those memory spells?”

“Fine. But I’ll be back soon for your next test.”

“Care to give me a hint on what to study?”

Jade lowered her face, stared at him hard and smirked. It was creepy and sinister.

“Elements.”

“I’m shit at chemistry!”

“Not like the periodic bloody table! Like  _ the _ elements. Earth, wind, fire, water.”

“Oh.”

Jade rolled her eyes as she flicked her hand, showering Louis with pink glitter as she disappeared. Louis sighed and turned to Harry, who was frozen in place with his hands mid-rub and his expression stunned.

_ “For my Harry, who I hold so dear, make him forget what just happened here.” _

Louis pointed at Harry, whose expression fell into one of mild confusion.

“Did you say something?” Harry asked. “Sorry, I was miles away.”

“I was just saying that when I walk you home, we should stop off and get some ice cream.”

“Mm,” Harry said, nodding. He stood up and approached Louis, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “Thanks for today. It was fun.”

“I’m not sure about  _ fun, _ but you’re welcome.”

Harry grinned, before he just happened to glance at the floor.

“Is that glitter?!”

-

“So, does the other realm have its own, like, celebrities, or are some of the celebrities in the mortal realm witches?”

“Well, the other realm does have some of its own, but of course some of the ones here are witches, too.” Jay took a bite of potato, chewing and swallowing before talking. “I mean, you’d be pressed to find a mortal who can do the things that Beyonce does.”

“Beyonce’s a witch?”

“Of course!”

“Okay, so… in room two of my true love test, I met Channing Tatum.”

Jay smirked. “Huh. So that’s who your temptation was?”

“Leave me alone,” Louis muttered. “Anyway, does that mean he’s a witch?”

“Not necessarily. Sometimes, people just get plucked out of their lives and given a memory spell. Or it might not have been the real him. Just a sort of… reflection.”

“Oh.” Louis frowned. “That’s disappointing.”

“Don’t forget that you chose Harry over him,” Jay said with a slight laugh. “Anyway, you can’t always tell who is and isn’t a witch. But if you spend some time in the other realm, you could figure it out.”

Louis nodded thoughtfully. “So, who else?”

“Um, let’s see… Adele, obviously. Morgan Freeman is huge in the other realm.”

“Unsurprising.”

“Celebrity culture is very different there.  _ Gossip  _ culture is very big, but people aren’t as impressed with talent. There are spells for all that, so literally anyone could do it. In fact, now I’m thinking about it, they’re probably all witches.”

“There has to be some successful, talented mortals.”

“Oh, for sure. Michael Jackson was mortal.”

“No way! That does surprise me.”

Louis loved learning about the other realm. It was an endlessly fascinating place to him, a place that he wanted to explore further. Maybe one day he would live there. He couldn’t imagine ever getting bored.

“I’ve just remembered!” Jay said, startling Louis.

“What?”

“August has a Friday the thirteenth.”

“So?”

Jay just smiled knowingly. “I’m not telling you. Not until after your exams.”

-

After the whole jigsaw puzzle fiasco, Louis had tried his best to show compassion to Liam. Okay, so maybe he did it by tugging on Liam’s heart strings, mentioning his grandmother at every opportunity, but it worked. They managed to work together and get their showcase ready. 

Louis was glancing over his lines. There was a certain section that tripped him up every time, so he was sitting in the auditorium, mumbling his lines to himself. He was all alone, or so he thought.

“It’s my flav- it’s my favourite flavour,” Louis muttered. “Favourite flavour.  _ Favourite flavour.” _

A sound startled him. Someone was singing. It echoed around the auditorium, seemingly coming from the stage area. For a split second, he thought maybe it was Harry, but the voice sounded nothing like Harry at all. Louis looked up, intrigued, and scanned the stage.

“Hello?”

The singing stopped abruptly and Louis stood up, trying to see into the wings. Something in the shadows moved, and somebody emerged onto the stage.

“Liam?”

“Um, what are you doing here?” Liam asked, looking a bit embarrassed. “Didn’t think anyone was here.”

“I hung around to go over my lines, you know, in the peace and quiet.”

“Right. So I disturbed you.”

“No,” Louis said, trying to hide a grin. “Not at all. You’ve got a really lovely voice, Liam.”

“Whatever. Look, keep going over those lines. I won’t have you fucking up my showcase.” Liam cleared his throat and, in one smooth moment, jumped down off the stage. “I need to go and buy some string for a science experiment.”

Louis smirked. “Okay. Have fun.”

Liam looked him up and down. “If you say  _ flavourite  _ in our showcase, I’m gonna kill you.”

“Just go buy your string.” Louis rolled his eyes and shook his head as Liam walked away. He had to admit, that arsehole could sing. They could have incorporated that into their showcase if Liam had let on.

“Oi!”

Louis quickly turned around to see Harry walking down the aisle towards him, grinning and looking very proud of himself for being so disruptive.

“You’re so loud,” Louis complained before standing up and opening his arms. “Hi.”

Harry closed the space between them and moved into Louis’ arms easily. Louis felt both Harry’s and his own body relax as they embraced, Harry ducking his head to press his mouth and nose against Louis’ neck.

“How’s your day?” Harry murmured against his skin.

“Yeah, not bad. Hey, did you know Liam sings?”

Harry pulled away and reached up to sweep Louis’ fringe away from his eyes.

“Dunno. I think Zayn might have mentioned it.”

“He’s so good. Proper sick.”

Harry smirked. “That’s probably the nicest thing I’ve ever heard you say about him.”

“Hey. Credit where credit’s due.”

“You’ve changed.” Harry narrowed his eyes before smiling widely. “Heading home?”

“Yeah.” Louis gathered his things. 

“Have you eaten?”

Louis paused. “You know what? I could murder a burger.”

-

Being around Harry was always pleasant, especially when Louis felt stressed. Something about Harry’s company made everything else feel not as bad.

With studying for his uni exams and trying to keep on top of his magical education, Louis was exhausted. Harry, of course, could never understand the kind of burden he was under, but he supported Louis anyway, never making Louis feel like he was exaggerating.

Louis came home from the diner and got straight to magical studying. He didn’t know where to start. Jade told him to learn about the elements, but what did that even mean?

“Niall, I need help.”

Niall stirred from his nap and growled quietly under his breath.

“I know.”

“Come on, please? Jade told me she was going to test me on the elements, but what does that mean?”

Niall sighed. “Earth, wind, fire, water.”

“I know, but-”

“Look them up in your magic app, even Google them and read about them. Become one with them.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Niall lifted his back leg above his head and looked Louis in the eye.

“My guess is, she will ask you to turn yourself into them.”

“Right.” Louis sighed, making a face as Niall began to lick his arse. “Do you have to?”

Niall hummed in assent. 

“So, is there a spell? An incantation? Like…  _ I want to pass this test, even though I’ve sinned, help me out and turn me into wind.” _

He thought at first that he had done it. He felt a strange rumbling in his stomach and he expected to turn into a gust of wind. Instead, he let out a long fart.

“Oh my God!” Louis squeaked, taking himself by surprise.  _ “Not _ what I meant by wind.”

Niall cackled loudly. “Oh, fuck! You’re an idiot!”

“Shut up,” Louis grumbled. “Well, what did I do wrong?”

“You think that all there is to magic is being good at rhyming? You’re a bloody fool, Louis Tomlinson.”

“Right,” Louis said, standing up. “You’re less than no help. I’m going to ask my mum.”

“Wait, wait.” Niall let his giggles die down before sighing. “Look, you just need to be one with the elements. Water’s probably the easiest, so start with that. Close your eyes and just… don’t think of yourself as a solid entity. You are liquid. You flow, you change.”

Louis peeked open one eye. “This feels dumb.”

“Enjoy failing.”

“I didn’t say it  _ was _ dumb!” Louis protested.

“Look, you’re never gonna get it on the first try. Just… keep practising. And do it before Jade comes to test you. It could take weeks.”

“I don’t have weeks to dedicate to this! I have exams.”

Niall jumped off the bed and left the room without another word. Louis scoffed to himself and closed his eyes. He was fluid. He was liquid. He was water.

He opened his eyes. The only thing he had achieved it that he now needed a wee.

Once he had stopped by the bathroom, he headed downstairs, where Niall was sitting on the table and his mum on a chair.

“Niall tells me you’re still acting like a brat.”

Louis flicked Niall’s ear. “What do you mean?”

“He says you’re still acting like the only teenager to ever find out he’s a witch. He says you’re acting as if you’re the only one who ever had to juggle a mortal and a magical education.”

“You’re all so determined to keep me grounded, aren’t you?”

“Lou, I know university is a lot of work, but there’s plenty of room for studying your magic too.” Jay shrugged. “Maybe go out one night a week less.”

Louis huffed. “I know, I know. I just like to complain.”

“If you need to make extra time,” Niall said, “can I suggest cutting out the boyfriend?”

“Are you jealous, or what?” Louis retorted. “You need to shut up about Harry.”

“He’s just being facetious,” Jay said. “Ignore him. He’s just a bitter, old cat.”

Louis made a face at Niall. “Anyway. I just wish Jade would wait until after my exams. I’ll have more time to study magic stuff over the summer.”

“Weren’t you hoping to get a job over the summer?”

“Well, after the sandman stuff didn’t work out… also known as, you made me quit…”

“Because you got into the habit of dreamdropping…”

“I’m not that keen on the idea anymore. I might do a couple of days a week in a bar, or something.”

“I know you have the potential to be a fantastic witch, Louis, but you need to study.”

“I will, I will.”

-

Louis had decided to put his all into learning how to turn into water first. He hadn’t succeeded yet, but the morning of his showcase, he felt very focused and managed to bring a slight dew to his skin. He was elated to have finally done something, but it meant that he felt gross for the rest of the day.

Still, he put all his attention onto the showcase. He got through it -  _ not _ saying ‘flavourite’ - and it went very well, despite all the troubles they’d had in rehearsals. Once they came off stage, everybody hugged each other, Louis and Liam no exception.

“Well done, mate,” Louis said to Liam.

“You too,” Liam replied. “Well done on not saying flavourite.”

Louis chuckled. “Coming for a beer?”

“I can’t.” There was a strange, momentarily awkward beat before Liam looked Louis up and down. “See ya.”

Louis grinned as he turned away and joined their other classmates to go to the pub. He reckoned it must have physically pained Liam to be nice to him, but it was a pleasant change nonetheless.

_ ‘Guess what? Me and Liam hugged after we came off stage and told each other well done. See how mature I can be? Hahaha!! Xx’ _

Louis smirked to himself as he sent the text to Harry, pausing for a second before he copied and pasted the exact same message to his mum.

_ ‘Proud of you!’  _ Harry replied.  _ ‘How did it go?? Wish I could’ve come to watch x’ _

_ ‘It went really well! Don’t worry babe, you’ll get to see me on stage at some point. I would’ve been mad at you if you skipped class for me xx’ _

“Oi!” Tristan said, throwing his arm around Louis’ shoulders. “Stop texting your boy. We’re celebrating!”

They got to the pub and Louis had two pints before leaving for home. It was early, and he was looking forward to picking up the momentum from the morning and hopefully turning himself into water. He went for a wee beforehand, just in case.

He got into his room and sat on the bed. As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard a swooshing. He opened his eyes to see Jade in front of him.

“No!” he whined. “I’m not ready.”

“Oh?” she said. “Didn’t you just finish your showcase and have no other plans for the rest of the day?”

“Yeah. But I haven’t even managed to turn myself into water yet, let alone the other three elements.”

“Who says I’m here to test on the elements?”

“You’re not?” Louis asked hopefully.

“No, no. I totally am.”

“But I can’t do it!” He pouted. “Give me one more week.”

“No,” Jade scoffed. “Close your eyes and try your best. Turn yourself into water. And relax, for God’s sake.”

Louis sighed, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He exhaled slowly, trying to channel the feeling of having no body, of freely flowing like a river. He started to feel a bit loose, a bit like he was going to disintegrate, and for a second he thought he might have wet himself. He quickly realised that not only was he wet, it was because he was water.

It was a strange feeling. He felt as if he could separate from himself and flow anywhere, but right now he quickly realised he had soaked into his bed, existing in the fibres of his duvet, sheet, and mattress. That was especially weird. And now he had to work out how to turn back into human form, hopefully with all his limbs attached where they should be.

“You did it!” he heard Jade say, her voice muffled.

Louis’ brain was literally liquid but he focused, remembering the feeling of being a solid human being, with bones and limbs and eyes and… he opened his eyes and he had returned to his former self.

“Well done,” Jade said, beaming, genuine and warm for the first time since Louis met her. “That was great.”

“Ugh.” Louis stood to his feet and squirmed. “I feel like I have fluff inside me.”

“Your body will get rid of that,” Jade said with a dismissive wave of the hand. “What made you begin with water, then?”

“The cat told me it was the easiest.”

“Hm,” Jade said, nodding thoughtfully. “I found earth the easiest, so maybe try that one next. The easiest time to turn into fire is when you’re angry, and wind is really hard.”

“Alright. Earth. What will I turn into? A pile of dirt?”

“Yup,” Jade replied, checking her nails. She wiggled her fingers at Louis, covering his feet in pink glitter. “Work on it. See ya.”

“When?” 

“Could be in an hour. Could be in a month.” Jade winked, and even that movement puffed glitter into the air. “Be prepared.”

She was gone.

-

“Louis,” Jay said the next morning. “Darling, I don’t know what you do in your room, but if you could make less of a mess with the glitter, I’d be grateful. It’s clogging up the hoover.”

“Mum, it’s not me. It’s Jade. Whenever she pops in or out, or does magic, or whatever, she showers glitter everywhere. Can’t you zap it away?”

“You know what glitter’s like,” Jay said with a sigh.

Louis said no more on it. Glitter was a bastard to get rid of. 

“You going to eat breakfast?” 

“I don’t have anything on until the afternoon, so I’m going for breakfast with Harry.”

“That’s nice. It would be lovely to have him around again, Louis.”

Louis frowned. “I’m traumatised after last time. Jade popped in and Harry nearly had a heart attack.”

“Or is it because he said you were sinister?”

“No!” Louis protested. “We sorted that out.”

“Because he sucked your neck,” Niall pointed out.

“He didn’t!” Louis squeaked. “He didn’t suck it. I’m going.”

Louis headed off to meet Harry. They found a little cafe for breakfast, eating and chatting for nearly two hours before Harry had to leave to go to his first exam.

“Good luck, love,” Louis said before giving him a kiss. “Text me after. Hopefully I’ll finish class around the same time as your exam.”

Harry beamed widely, dimple popping in his cheek. “Can’t wait.”

“Go on,” Louis said, grinning. “You’ll be great.”

They kissed again, and Louis watched Harry jog away towards his exam. Louis pointed at him and conjured a lucky penny into his pocket. It was a little spell he had read on his magic app. It was more of a confidence boost for the recipient, rather than actual luck, but he hoped it would give Harry a tiny helping hand.

Harry, of course, would never know that he had got any help. Louis had begun to daydream every now and then about what it would be like if Harry knew the truth. If he knew Louis was a witch. 

Maybe he would be fascinated. Maybe he would find it exciting. Then again, maybe he would think Louis was a huge freak and want nothing to do with him. Harry reckoned he found the idea of the supernatural interesting, but if he came face to face with it, would he really feel that way?

Logically, Louis knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to find out. Okay, if he and Harry were going to be together for a long time - forever, even - Louis would probably have to spill his secret some day. But the more time that passed, the more time Louis would have been lying to him.

It was an impossible situation. They only thing he could hope for is that Harry understood that when the time came.

Louis was in the lecture hall for ten minutes before the lecture was cancelled. He entertained the idea of just going home, but travelling home just to travel back in again to meet Harry was a waste of time. He wandered the halls of his campus until he found an empty classroom to practice his elements in. Sitting on the desk, he closed his eyes and tried to think like… dirt?

Earth. Okay.  _ Feel the earth, _ he told himself.  _ Be one with the ground. _

He sighed. Maybe sitting on a desk wasn’t the best idea for this. Unfolding his legs, he slipped off the desk and leaned against a wall. He slid down until he was sitting on the floor and he refolded his legs.

He focused on the feeling of the floor below him, imagining sinking down into it, being a part of it. He knew when he had managed it, as he felt his body crumble away until he became a pile of dirt. As he was in no hurry, he tried to absorb the experience. He couldn’t see, but he could hear, which was odd. There was no other way to describe it, other than he felt like a pile of dirt. Crumbled and scattered. 

Just as he was about to attempt to turn back into himself, he heard footsteps. It was probably stupid to turn himself into dirt whilst on campus, and he realised that now. Since he couldn’t see, he had no way of making sure no one could see him.

“Come,” a voice said. “Close the door.”

Louis knew that voice. Zayn.

“I hate all this sneaking around,” another, also familiar voice said.

_ Surely _ not. 

“I’m sorry, Liam. It won’t be for much longer, I promise.”

Louis’ urge to interfere would definitely have pushed him to walk into the room and interrupt, had he been in human form and listening through a door. As it happened, as much as he wanted to intervene, he wasn’t prepare to change into human form from a pile of dirt in front of the two men. So, he continued to listen, horrified as he heard kissing noises. He couldn’t leave. The only thing worse than the betrayal he had been feeling was the worry that they were going to get… frisky. 

“Oh, Z,” Liam cooed, sighing. “Look, I really have to go.”

Louis would have sighed in relief, if he had a mouth or lungs.

“Can I see you tonight?” Zayn asked, hopeful.

“Yeah,” Liam replied softly. “I’ll drop you a text, okay?”

More kissing sounds, and someone whined.

“You’re so gorgeous,” Liam murmured.

“You are,” Zayn replied as their voices trailed off. 

Louis waited a few seconds, listening to make sure they had gone. When he was as sure as he could get, he focused on becoming human again. He gathered up, every crumble of dirt coming together to form his body and there he was, skin and bone once again. He stood to his feet and let out a shiver.

“Ugh. Zayn and Liam.”

He peeked out of the door to make sure nobody was looking, and he casually strolled out. He headed straight for Harry’s exam hall and waited for him to finish. When he did, he was taken aback to see Louis waiting for him.

“Hello, love,” he said. “This was a nice surprise.”

“My lecture was cancelled. How was the exam?”

Harry sighed. “Kinda tough. I think I did well, though.”

“Aw, I bet you did.” Louis took a deep breath. “Can we go for a coffee or something? You’ll never guess what I found out.”

After a bit of deliberating, they headed back to Harry’s. Louis didn’t want to tell Harry what he had witnessed until they got back, but Harry wasn’t having any of it.

“Tell me.”

“Later!”

“No! Tell me!” Harry whined. “You can’t tell me you have something to tell me then not tell me. That’s mean.”

“Nope.”

“Tell me,” Harry said yet again, tugging on Louis’ arm.

“Oh my  _ God!” _ Louis yanked his arm away from Harry before pulling a face at him. “Fine! Brat.”

“Yay,” Harry said quietly, grinning.

“My lecture got cancelled and so I went wandering around the building, trying to decide how to kill time. I walk past this classroom and who do I see inside?  _ Zayn and Liam!  _ They were  _ kissing,  _ Harry.”

To Louis’ surprise, Harry didn’t really react. He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and bit down on it, and Louis had a bad feeling.

“Uh…” Harry said with a groan. “Yeah, I knew about it.”

Louis stopped dead in the street, grabbing hold of Harry’s arm.

“I’m sorry…  _ what?!” _

“Alright, look. I’m sorry, Louis. I saw them together and asked Zayn about it, he told me that they were seeing each other but he swore me to secrecy. He’s my friend, Lou. I don’t betray a confidence.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Louis,” Harry said slowly, slight tone of warning. “Just because you’re my boyfriend, it doesn’t mean I’m going to spill other people’s secrets.”

Louis pouted. He knew Harry was in the right, he even admired him for it. It didn’t stop him feeling icky that Harry knew about it all along, though.

“But  _ Zayn and Liam!  _ Harry!”

“Get over it.” Harry scoffed. “Look, Zayn knew exactly how you were going to react. He didn’t keep it from you just to save the earache, he just didn’t want to upset you until he knew if it was going to end up as more than a couple of dates. Cut him some slack, will you?”

Louis sighed and let out a shudder. “But it’s  _ Liam.” _

“People are complex. You only see a shitty side of him, but that’s not the  _ only _ side to him. You two managed to get along for your showcase, so you know he has a better side.”

“But how can Zayn go out with someone who has such a shitty side?”

Harry folded his arms and cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Because I think I’m going out with someone who’s showing a pretty shitty side right now.”

He might as well have slapped Louis in the face. Louis had to admit that he felt like a whiny baby when he complained about Zayn and Liam, which he had been doing on a regular basis ever since he found out about science club. 

“Oh… fine.” Louis sighed loudly. “You’re right. Happy?”

“Act like a grown up, Louis.”

They continued to walk to Harry’s in silence. In Liam’s unconscious effort to ruin Louis’ life, he had now caused problems between him and Harry. What a dickhead.

Who was Louis kidding? Liam had nothing to do with it.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Harry as they turned onto his road. “I’m letting my personal feelings get in the way. I know.”

Harry put his key in the door and shook his head.

“Well, I’m glad you worked through your issues in front of me and not in front of Zayn.”

“Mm, but I kind of wish I hadn’t shown you my ‘shitty side’, as you put it.”

“Ah. If that’s as shitty as it gets, I think I’m pretty lucky.”

They headed to Harry’s room and Louis perched on the end of the bed.

“Look,” Harry said, kicking his shoes off. “For what it’s worth, Zayn really seems to like him. And, I’ve not spent a lot of time around them together, but Liam seems to like him too. Give him a chance. You don’t have to like him yourself, but give Zayn the space to decide if he does.”

“This is why I like you so much.” Louis stood up, wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist and pulled him closer.

“What, because I stand up for Zayn’s right to date your enemy?”

Louis chuckled. “Because you’re so clever. And empathetic.”

“Hm?” Harry hummed as Louis kissed him. “What else?”

“Talented.” Louis kissed him again. “Sexy.”

Harry moaned, stepping even closer. “So you forgive me for not telling you?”

“Yeah, of course. I admire your loyalty.” Louis brushed curls away from Harry’s eye. “Makes me feel very comfortable and safe with you.”

“Mm, well. I’m glad.”

“Do you forgive me for being such a self absorbed bastard?”

“Yeah.” Harry slipped his hand into Louis’ and pulled him to the bed. “Just don’t forget that we all care about you. Zayn cares about you, that’s why he didn’t want to tell you until he was sure.”

“Okay, I know.” Louis sighed. “I wonder how it’s going.”

“I think it’s going alright,” Harry said with a smile. “He seems quite smitten.”

-

Now that Louis knew, he noticed that Zayn seemed happier and more confident. And, well… he was willing to reluctantly admit that it could only be a good thing.

He tried to lower his veil of bias and take Liam at face value. Liam hadn’t been quite so vile to him since the showcase, so maybe things were changing. Liam even spoke to him - by choice - after their next exam.

“How’d you do?” Liam asked. 

Louis scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Shakespeare has never been my forte.”

“Same,” Liam replied, scrunching up his nose. “I struggle to even understand what I’m reading.”

Louis chuckled, seeing Harry walking towards him out the corner of his eye. “Um, see ya.”

Liam walked away, openly checking Harry out as he approached.

“Ah,” Harry said with a smirk. “You two seemed to be not ripping each other’s throats out.”

“He was nice. But then he checked you out. Don’t you think that’s a little disrespectful to Zayn?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Hardly crime of the century, is it? Anyway, he can’t be blamed for being turned by my stunningly good looks.”

“Shut up,” Louis replied with a giggle. He looked over to where Liam was standing, chatting to Zayn. “Hey, look at them. Pretending like they’re not a couple.”

“Come on, leave ‘em alone.”

After Louis’ final exam, he pondered the fact that Zayn would soon be going back up north for the summer and he still hadn’t told Louis about Liam. Louis had technically finished university until Autumn, but here he was, hanging around campus. Harry was having his final assessment, and Louis had finally agreed to bring Harry home for another visit. 

He headed to the cafe to have a cup of tea while he waited. As he pulled the door open, he nearly bumped right into Zayn.

“Oh… hi.” Zayn cleared his throat. “Um, I was just gonna text you.”

“You wanna grab a drink? Or have you just had coffee?”

“No, I’m up for a coffee.”

Louis felt Liam watching them from behind the counter as Zayn walked them to the table in the back corner. They sat down, and Zayn immediately started to fidget with a sugar packet.

“What’s up, then, Z?” Louis leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to catch up. Keeping busy?”

“I’ve actually got something to tell you, man.” Zayn took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re not gonna like it, Lou.”

Zayn looked pretty nervous, and Louis took pity on him.

“Zayn, look. I already know.”

Zayn narrowed his eyes. “You already know… what?”

Louis had a moment of uncertainty. Maybe Zayn was about to tell him something else.

“Oh, um… were you about to tell me… something about your love life?”

“I’m gonna fucking kill Harry.”

“No, no!” Louis protested. “I promise you, he didn’t tell me. I even kicked off at him for not telling me, and he told me I was acting like a shithead and told me he would never have broken your confidence like that.”

“Seriously?”

“After i got over myself, I was impressed with his loyalty, to be honest.” Louis smiled serenely. “I’m proud of my boy.”

“Okay,” Zayn said, amused. “So how the hell did you find out?”

“I was passing by the other day when you and Liam dipped into a classroom for a snog.”

“Oh my- really?” Zayn shook his head. “Liam said you had gone after your lecture was cancelled.”

“What does he know?” Louis scoffed. Zayn raised his eyebrows. “Sorry. Habit.”

“You’re gonna have to be nicer to him, Lou,” Zayn said, amusement dripping from his tone. “We’re not just messing about. He’s my boyfriend.”

Zayn was smiling so genuinely that Louis couldn’t help but smile, too. 

“Yeah, um… Harry gave me the impression that it was going quite well.”

“I didn’t wanna upset you until I knew if it was gonna last. It just happened. You know, I wanted to know him well enough to be able to defend him against you when I finally told you.”

“God,” Louis scoffed. “You’re making me sound like a monster.”

Zayn smirked. “Whatever. I’m kinda glad I didn’t have the bear the brunt of your meltdown.”

“Yes. My poor Harry had to. Genuinely surprised he didn’t dump me on the spot, to be honest.”

“Aww!” Zayn propped his chin on his fist, his elbow on the table. “Your irrationality is my favourite thing about you.”

“Alright, fuck off!” Louis laughed. “I thought my arse was your favourite thing about me.”

“Yeah,” Zayn said with a smile. “That’s my second favourite.”

Liam approached the two, silently placing two drinks down on the table. Zayn’s was a coffee, Louis’ a tea.

“Thank you,” Louis said, surprised. His tea had just the right amount of milk. “How nice.”

Liam smiled tightly and disappeared once again.

“See?” Zayn said dreamily. “He’s lovely.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but this was quite sweet.”

Zayn just grinned.

-

“So, tell me. How did it happen?”

Zayn huffed out a breath as he pushed his hands into his pockets. Zayn had decided to walk Louis over to the building where Harry was carrying out his assessment, so they walked side by side as Louis asked Zayn questions.

“Well, we kind of grew close during science club. Not, like… close. I dunno. It got the point where I just really fancied him, and I started to feel like he fancied me, too. He asked me round to his, to help him out with this thing with lightbulbs we’d spoken about. He was flirting a bit and, for some reason, I just took a chance and kissed him.” Zayn smiled to himself. “And that was it. We met up for a cheeky snog every now and then, and eventually he asked me out. How could I say no?”

Louis bit his tongue, knowing it was obviously a rhetorical question.

“Z, I’m pleased for you, I really am. You seem so happy.”

“Yeah.” Zayn sighed contently. “I am.”

When Harry came out of his assessment, he was pleased and relieved to learn that the secret was out. The three of them returned to the cafe, and Liam joined them for an hour. Louis found it weird to spend time with Liam when he wasn’t forced to, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Liam couldn’t exactly be a dickhead right there in front of Zayn, but Louis also didn’t get the impression he was holding back.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” Harry said as they walked back to Louis’.

“Me? What for?”

“Well, aside from your little outburst…” He turned to smirk at Louis. “You’re handling this well.”

“I mean, he’s happy. And, like you said, Liam has shown that he has a good side. I  _ suppose _ I can give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Aw. That’s my boy.”

“Thank you for the tough love. I really needed it.”

Harry smiled softly. “You just needed a little nudge. I know you’re a good person, Lou.”

They walked up to Louis’ front door and Louis opened it, pulling Harry inside. He quickly scanned the hallway to check that Niall wasn’t lurking, before pushing Harry against the wall, caging him in, and kissing him.

“Mm,” Harry hummed quietly.

“I’m very lucky to have you.”

“Louis?” Louis’ mum’s voice rang out from the kitchen. “Is that you?”

Louis sighed and stepped away from Harry.

“Sorry in advance for what will likely be a really weird evening.”

-

As it happened, the evening went as smoothly as it could have. Sure, Harry heard Niall mumbling his disagreement to something Jay had said, but they managed to fob him off with an excuse about a radio turning on automatically.

Harry treated himself to an Uber home, and Louis collapsed on the sofa.

“Lying is exhausting.” Louis huffed. “Mum, what if I wanted to tell Harry I was a witch?”

Jay paused, three wine glasses in her hand.

“Well, darling, I’d think long and hard about that. You’ll never know how people will react, no matter how well you know them.” She shifted her weight to her other leg. “You have to be completely - 100% - sure that he won’t tell everybody. Or anybody, really. If he did, it would put your life in danger. That might sound hyperbolic, but it’s a real risk. Even if you did trust him, you’d need to really drill into his head the risks of telling anyone.”

“I suppose,” Louis mumbled.

“And on top of that, mortals find this stuff difficult to deal with. Look at how you reacted when you found out you were a witch.”

“Yeah,” Louis said, feeling disappointed. “Well, it was just a thought.”

“However…” Jay let out a quiet laugh. “That brings me nicely onto the thing I wanted to tell you once your exams were over.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “Yes?”

“As I told you before, the month of August has a Friday the 13th this year.”

“Ugh. I’m not really a superstitious person, but Friday the 13th always puts me on edge.”

“It’s actually a bank holiday in the other realm. All the celebrations put so much magic in the air that it gives mortals a weird feeling. That kind of thing’s behind most superstitions, actually.”

“So, we celebrate it? Cool.” Louis narrowed his eyes. “Why do I feel like you’re gonna tell me we have to go to a party, or something?”

“No, no. See, there’s this rule on Friday the 13th.” Jay cleared her throat. “You can tell a mortal you’re a witch, and their memory of it is erased at midnight.”

Louis stood up. “Really?”

“Now, Louis, be careful. Everything I said before still applies.”

“But even if they betrayed you and told everyone, come midnight everyone’s memory gets erased.”

“I know, darling. They won’t remember, but you will. If you told Harry, for example, and he hated you for it, he’d be back to normal the next morning but you would never feel the same about him. It would destroy your relationship. All I’m saying is think long and hard before you throw a spanner into the works.”

Louis paused. He hadn’t thought of it that way. He had no doubt that Harry would keep the secret, but what if Harry freaked out? What if he thought Louis was a freak and wanted nothing to do with him? Louis couldn’t just go back to normal after that. It would ruin their relationship for good.

But… the thing was, Louis knew that if he and Harry were serious, it was inevitable that it was going to come out eventually. If Louis didn’t tell him first, he would probably find out for himself. And, well, maybe it was better for Louis to take this opportunity for a trial run. See how Harry would react.

Save himself getting in too deep if Harry was always going to react badly.

-

The next week, Harry headed home for two weeks. Louis felt at a loss. Zayn had also moved back home for the summer, so Louis didn’t have much to do. He had other friends, of course, but it wasn’t the same without Harry or Zayn. At least it gave him plenty of time to work on his elements.

“Louis?” Jay called up the stairs. “Liam’s here to see you.”

Louis turned himself back into human form - he was getting good at the earth thing - and headed downstairs, curious. 

“Um, hi,” he said to Liam as he got to the bottom of the stairs.

“Hiya. Um, so I’ll cut to the chase. I’m doing a summer school thing back home, and Zayn reckoned you might be interested in taking over my job at the cafe. Just for the summer.”

“Oh!” Louis raised his eyebrows. He had got over the idea of getting a job, but here was a nice enough job being handed to him on a plate. “You’ve put me on the spot a bit.”

“I’m leaving in a week, so you have time to think it over. Pop by and have a chat with my uncle. He’s the manager.”

“Alright, I’ll think about it.”

Liam nodded and turned to leave.

“Thanks, Liam.”

Liam nodded again and stepped out of the front door, before pausing and turning to Louis.

“I hope me and you can get along. For the sake of Zayn.”

“Yeah.” Louis nodded. “Me too.”

Liam smiled awkwardly. “Bye.”

Louis closed the door behind him and leaned against it. “Huh.”

He headed into the kitchen and absently scratched behind Niall’s ear.

“What did he want?” Jay asked suspiciously.

“He’s going out of town for summer and asked if I wanted to take over his job at the cafe while he’s gone.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “That was nice.”

“I know. Weird.” Louis shrugged. “It’s a new Liam, I guess.”

“He must’ve been mean ‘cause he needed to get laid,” Niall added helpfully.

“Niall,” Jay scoffed disapprovingly.

“Maybe he’s right,” Louis said with a grin. “Anyway, I might take it. It’s only part time. I mean, Liam manages it alongside his degree and his social life. I can do it and juggle magic stuff and spending time with Harry, right?”

“Sure,” Jay said, nodding. “Sounds alright.”

Louis popped in to chat to the manager and it was agreed that he would have a training day with Liam before he left. As it happened, Liam ending up being patient and helpful. 

“So,” Louis said as they dried mugs together. “You popping up to Bradford to see Z at any point?”

“Uh, yeah. No specific plans. I’m free at weekends, so I might pop up to see him, or he might come down and spend a few days in Wolves, with me.”

“Aw, that’s nice.”

“You seeing Harry?”

“He’s actually back in a week. It’s so weird being away from him, I miss him like mad.” Louis grinned at Liam. “We’ll hopefully have a lot of fun this summer.”

“I’m, um… sorry,” Liam said, the word  _ sorry _ sounding very unnatural for him to say. “For… every time I teased you about Harry and implied I was gonna steal him away, or whatever.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Louis waved a hand dismissively. “Look, we clashed a lot when we first met, but we found a common ground when we were preparing the showcase. Let’s just never go back to that place, yeah? We can forget all about it.”

“No.” Liam put a cup down and threw his tea towel over his shoulder. “Louis, I’m not a bad guy. I swear. I’d had a really tough time in school and sixth form, and I came to uni not wanting to go through all that again. I refused to be a victim again.”

“So, you victimised others?”

“I was just… angry.” Liam frowned, but only for a second, when a soft smile washed over his face. “But when I met Zayn - well, got to know him - it all changed.”

“Yeah?”

“Being around him just calmed me down, man. It was like I was under a spell.”

Louis nearly laughed, but he stopped himself. “That’s really sweet, in a weird way.”

“He was scared, Lou. Really scared that he’d lose you when you found out.”

Neither Zayn nor Harry had quite put it like that. He was  _ scared? _ He thought Louis wouldn’t want to know him anymore? Had Louis really been that irrational?

“That’s awful,” Louis said regretfully. 

“It’s sad, actually.” Liam shrugged. “It’s all a bit of a mess, isn’t it?”

“Mm. Well, it’s in the past.”

Liam grinned, slapping his palm to Louis’ shoulder.

-

Harry returned to London late on a Saturday afternoon. Louis was at work, and he rounded the counter and jogged over as soon as Harry walked through the door.

“Yay!” Louis threw his arms around Harry and sighed. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Harry said with a soft giggle before he pushed Louis away. “Don’t get yourself in trouble.”

“Want a drink?” Louis asked, heading back round the counter. “It turns out this place isn’t that busy over the summer.”

“Nothing for me, thanks. Most people have gone home, I guess. Or moved out.”

“It’s not completely dead. The summer school kids drink a lot of coffee.”

“Not used to it, I suppose.” Harry grinned widely. “How are you?”

“Bearing up. Much better now you’re home.” Louis frowned. “Um, back. I know London’s not  _ home.” _

“It’s starting to feel like it,” Harry said, still grinning. “What time do you finish?”

“In about two hours.”

“Come round mine for some dinner and a cuddle?”

“That sounds perfect,” Louis replied.

“Great. See ya then.”

“Wait, you’re going?”

Harry smiled sweetly, and Louis felt like he was melting.

“I have to go to Sainsbury’s, or it’ll be pasta and tangerines for dinner. I’d rather make you something a little bit nicer.”

Louis licked his lips and nodded. “Alright. See you in a couple of hours.”

-

After a surprisingly delicious meal of steak and blue cheese salad, Louis and Harry caught up on the last couple of weeks. Harry told Louis about visiting his extended family and sleeping until noon every day, and Louis told Harry about his training day and his resolution with Liam. It wasn’t long until talking descended into kissing, and Louis lost all concept of time until Harry rolled over and fell off his bed.

Louis couldn’t stop laughing until Harry’s face turned red and he nearly bit Louis’ head off. A cuddle won him round a bit and Louis had brought unsold cake from the cafe, so after he fed Harry a slice of victoria sponge, he was back in his good books.

“I hurt my elbow,” Harry complained, pouting. 

Louis grabbed his wrist, held it up in the air, and kissed his elbow.

“Better?”

“Yes! It’s not the only thing I hurt.”

“Watch it,” Louis said with a smirk. “Hey, what are you doing on the 13th of August?”

“Um… nothing.”

“Don’t make plans.”

“Why?”

Louis chewed his bottom lip. “Just… don’t. It’s a surprise.”

-

_ “Why do I have to come back to London just for one day?”  _ Zayn groaned.  _ “You’re being weird.” _

“Look, I just want to spend the day with you and Harry. It’s a surprise. Please? It’s a special day for me.”

_ “Why?”  _ Zayn insisted.

“It’s personal. I’ll tell you on the day. Please just trust me.”

To Louis’ relief, Zayn finally agreed to blindly trust him. On the morning of Friday the 13th of August, Zayn and Harry arrived to Louis’ at 9am.

“It’s so early,” Harry complained.

“I didn’t get into London until midnight,” Zayn stated, punctuating with a yawn.

“Okay,” Louis said, trying to keep his excitement hidden. “Thanks for coming you guys, it means a lot to me.”

“Are you gonna tell us what all this is about?” Zayn asked.

Louis’ excitement was suddenly met with nerves. What if they hated him?

“Right. Um, here’s the thing.” Louis cleared his throat. “I’m a witch.”

Zayn and Harry just stared at him blankly. Louis sighed. He had to remember how he reacted when he was first told that he was a witch. It took a lot of convincing.

“I know that sounds crazy and you probably don’t believe me.”

Harry just yawned and rubbed his right eye.

“Okay, um…” Louis wiggled his finger, trying to decide the best way to prove it. “Coffee?”

He pinged a cup of coffee into each of their hands, and Zayn was so taken aback he nearly tripped over his own feet.

“What the fuck?”

Harry was staring at the cup in his hand, uncomprehending.

“What’s going on?”

“Basically, it’s Friday the 13th, which means I can tell you guys that I’m a witch. At midnight, all memory of it will be erased from your minds.”

Harry just blinked, and Zayn looked terrified.

“Ugh, okay. How about a spell?  _ To prove my powers to Harry and Zayn, take us somewhere it never rains.” _

They popped out of Louis’ hallway, and Louis found himself so cold that he was worried he would freeze to death in seconds. He quickly grabbed hold of a stunned looking Harry and Zayn, and zapped them back home.

“Uh, what just happened?” Harry asked.

“I guess I cast a spell that sent us to the Arctic.”

“Well,  _ actually…” _ Zayn said. “It’s rare, but it can rain in the Arctic. In the summer, it can get up to twelve degrees centigrade.”

“Well, thanks for that.” Louis let out a shiver. “The supernatural is hardly an exact art.”

“I must be dreaming,” Harry said. “Do something else.”

“Um, well… ooh I know! Niall?”

Harry and Zayn both looked around the floor for the cat. Niall came trotting in and jumped up onto the hall table.

“Hiya, lads!”

“What the  _ fuck?” _ Harry’s eyes widened.

“Woah!” Zayn said with a slight laugh. “The kitty talks!”

“Don’t ‘kitty’ me,” Niall scoffed. 

“Sorry about him. He was a man, once upon a time. He’s serving time for breaking the law.”

“You have a convicted criminal living in your house?” Harry asked.

“Harry, please. Is this really the weirdest part of this whole thing?”

“I’m really struggling to process this.”

His friends looked a bit dazed, so Louis took them to the basement. 

“So, we’re about to be transported to the other realm. It’s the magical world. Mortals aren’t usually allowed to travel to the other realm, but as it’s Friday the 13th, my mum says there are special parties, and carnivals, and conventions… it’s all happening.”

“Are we gonna be a novelty there?” Zayn asked.

“Normally, you would. But the place will be crawling with mortals. No one’s gonna bat an eyelid.”

Zayn and Harry continued to seem bewildered as the headed to the other realm. Louis found them a carnival-type celebration in a park near to where his Nana lived, and his friends seemed to relax a little when it looked largely the same as the mortal realm.

“It depends where you go,” he explained. “I went to Venus for a family reunion once, and I went skiing on Mars.”

“No!” Zayn said. “You’re lying.”

“Wait,” Harry said, grabbing hold of Louis’ arm. “Don’t tell me your ski instructor who you nearly dumped me for was an alien?!”

“No, no.” Louis shook his head. “No, wait! I didn’t  _ nearly dump you. _ Don’t twist it.”

“But he  _ was _ a witch?”

“Well. Yeah.”

“God,” Harry scoffed. “How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“Get it together, Haz. None of the witches in the world can hold a candle to you.”

Harry seemed pleased with that. Louis took the pair of them on a rollercoaster that defied basically every law of physics, before they stopped off for some ice cream.

“Can’t wait to see what flavours they have,” Zayn said, rubbing his hands as he looked at the stall. “Um, where’s the menu?”

“This stall is your flavourite - dammit -  _ favourite  _ flavour.” Louis smirked to himself. If only Liam had been here. “Whatever your favourite is, that’s what it’ll taste like.”

“So, if my favourite is chocolate, it’ll taste like chocolate? But if Harry’s favourite is coconut, it’ll taste like coconut to him?”

“Correct.”

“What’s your favourite?” Harry asked Louis.

“Toasted marshmallow on a November evening.”

“I wanna try that!” Harry whined.

“Well, there’s another ice cream stall over there which tastes like your favourite feeling.”

Harry smirked, a blush colouring his cheeks as he glanced sideways at Zayn.

“I kind of think that’s not a good idea,” he replied.

“Ew,” Zayn muttered.

The carnival was full of cheap little tricks, things that meant absolutely nothing to witches but entertained mortals to no end. Pasties that were a different flavour with every bite. Balloons that made the holder levitate a few feet off the ground. Masks that gave the wearer a dog’s sense of smell.

“Lou,” Harry said, tilting his head. “Did you eat a croissant for breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

“You put a lot of butter on it.” Harry sniffed. “And those Vans really make your feet sweat, just by the way.”

“Okay, take that off.” Louis practically ripped the mask from Harry’s face. 

“Is there anything I can take with me?” Zayn asked. “I’d love to bring something to show Liam.”

“No, Z. In six hours, you won’t even remember being here.”

“So weird,” he muttered. 

“Look, let’s go back to mine. This was fun, but I think I can show you more impressive stuff.”

They headed back, and locked themselves in Louis’ room.

“So, as I explained to you guys over lunch, I’ve not long come into my powers, and alongside uni, I’m studying for my witch’s licence. At the moment, I’m working on turning into the four elements. I’m only halfway through learning, but you guys wanna see?”

Harry and Zayn nodded in unison. Louis chuckled, before standing in front of the both of them. He closed his eyes, concentrated, and collapsed into a puddle of water.

“Oh my God!” he heard Harry cry out. “That’s sick!”

“Cool. Um… do you think he’s okay?”

“I guess so?”

“But half of him, like, soaked into the rug.”

Louis would have laughed if he had a mouth or lungs. He turned himself back, much to the delight and relief of his friends.

“Secondly, earth.” Louis paused. “Oh, Zayn? I didn’t overhear you and Liam. I was in the room, in the form of a pile of dirt.”

“You know what? I saw that, and I thought it was odd, but I didn’t even think about it.”

Louis shrugged, grinning, before turning into dirt. Jade had been right. It was even easier than water. He tried not to think too much about that and the reasons why he found it so easy to be one with the dirt. 

When he turned back into himself, Harry was looking at him curiously.

“Show us something really wild,” Zayn said. “Please?”

“Um… one sec. I think I read about a cool spell.”

He pulled his phone out and typed in  _ body swap. _

“Here it is! Okay.” Louis cleared his throat.  _ “To truly understand the other, swap bodies with one another.” _

Harry and Zayn briefly had blank looks on their faces, before they glanced down at their bodies, then at each other.

“Woah!”

“I’m freaked out.”

“Me too,” Louis mused. “I’m confused as to who I’m supposed to lust after right now.”

“That’s how you see me?” Zayn’s body said, head tilting. “Just something to lust after, huh? Might as well just ogle him, then.”

“Oh, behave,” Louis told him. “This is weird.”

Zayn in Harry’s body started to move his arms in a weird motion. “Harry, you feel weird.”

“I don’t know how to respond to that, really.”

“Oh, God.” Zayn whined. “Haz, you need a wee.”

“Oh, yeah. I was about to go.” Harry shrugged Zayn’s shoulders. “Go for a wee, then!”

“If you think I’m gonna get your  _ thing _ out and hold it-”

“Oh my  _ God,”  _ Louis said with a sigh. 

“Actually,” Harry said. “You should get it out. I’d be interested to see what it looks like from an outside perspective.”

“How about no. It’s weird enough that I can _ feel _ it just… there.”

Harry smirked before leaning forward and tweaking the nipples of his own body. Zayn squeaked, widening his eyes.

“Haha!” Harry clapped his hands together. “Did you like that?”

“Your body liked it,” Zayn protested. 

“You two are such clowns,” Louis said. “I’m changing you back.”

“Quickly,” Zayn said. “He really needs a wee.”

Louis reversed the spell and, now that Harry was back in his own body, he dashed off to the bathroom.

“Ugh,” Zayn said, rolling his shoulders. “That’s better. Harry feels so weird.”

“You have fun today?” Louis asked. 

“Yeah!” Zayn smiled. “Shame I won’t remember it.”

“I know. But it’s really nice to know you guys don’t hate me for it. Or want to sell me to the circus.”

Zayn laughed as Harry walked back in the room.

“What are we talking about?”

“Just about how you guys aren’t gonna remember any of this after tonight.” Louis sighed. “I’ll remember, though.”

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Zayn asked. “Did you ever put any spells on us?”

“Hmm.” Louis pouted and looked at Zayn. “Can’t remember. Oh! There was one time you were hungover and I cast a spell to get you to class.”

“Oh, I think I know when you’re talking about.”

Louis pulled a face. “I was very new to magic. Not my best spell.”

Harry nudged him. “And? What about me?”

Louis glanced at Zayn before looking back to Harry. Maybe he should tell him about Valentine’s Day. Not that Harry would remember it in a couple of hours, but he had the urge nonetheless.

“I wanna tell you something, actually.”

“Oh?” Harry replied.

“Uh…” Zayn cleared his throat. “Do you want me to leave?”

Louis shook his head. “Ah, you won’t remember this anyway.”

“Please start speaking,” a nervous Harry said.

“Okay. Um… so, here’s the thing. The magical world is a bit… biased towards mortals. Discriminatory at times, one might say, and they try and discourage witch-mortal relationships. One of the ways they do that is…” Louis sighed. “When a witch kisses a mortal for the first time, the mortal turns into a frog.”

“But I…” Harry pouted and tilted his head. “A frog?”

“Do you remember Valentine’s Day? Where I wouldn’t kiss you, and I told you I just wanted to be friends? That was because I found out about the frog thing. I’m actually half mortal - my dad’s mortal - so nobody could actually tell me whether you’d turn into a frog or not. I broke, I couldn’t resist kissing you. Especially because you just looked so sad when I told you I just wanted to be friends.”

“So you’re saying that I turned into a frog.”

“You turned into a frog,” Louis confirmed.

“Then what happened?”

“My mum told me the only way to turn you back was to take a test of true love. We’d barely started going out. I didn’t understand how they could expect a test of true love to reverse something that happened after a first kiss. It seemed impossible.”

Harry looked at if he was holding his breath. He was staring at Louis with rapt attention, and Louis had the urge to kiss him. He resisted.

“But it wasn’t?” Harry whispered.

Louis took a deep breath. “My mum explained to me that when they say  _ true love, _ it’s more about the relationship having the foundations upon which true love can blossom. It reassured me, and so I took the test.”

Harry was smiling softly. “And you passed?”

“There were three tests: test of friendship, test of fidelity, test of faith. Passed all three.”

“That’s great to know.” Harry’s smile melted to a frown. “Hey, what was the test of fidelity?”

Louis chuckled. “Oh, God. It was a wet Channing Tatum in little swimming trunks, offering me to sit between his legs for a massage.”

Harry’s eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of his head. “Seriously? And you resisted?”

“Of course I did,” Louis said indignantly.

“Gosh,” Zayn scoffed with a smirk. “I would  _ not _ have passed.”

“I don’t think I would have, either,” Harry said.

“Oi!”

“I’m joking,” Harry said with a grin. “But, man! Channing Tatum? I loved him in  _ 21 Jump Street!” _

Louis blinked at him. “Yeah.  _ 21 Jump Street  _ is exactly why the supernatural powers that be chose him for my ultimate temptation.”

“What? He was funny in it!” Harry chuckled and shuffled closer to Louis. “So. We have the  _ potential _ for true love.”

“I guess we do.”

Harry took his hand. “That, um, actually sounds about right.”

Louis kissed him and Harry immediately slipped his tongue into Louis’ mouth. They got lost in the moment somewhat, until Zayn cleared his throat.

“Sorry,” Louis muttered, pulling away. “Look, we don’t have a lot of time left, and I wanna do something for both of you. Any final requests?”

“Hm, I dunno,” Harry mused. 

“Lou! This might sound crazy, but will you turn my hair bright blue? I really don’t wanna bleach it, and I can’t get it to go blue otherwise.”

Louis laughed lightly. “Sure.”

He pointed at Zayn’s hair, and Zayn jumped up to look in the mirror.

“Is the shade right?”

“It’s  _ so _ sick,” Zayn said, huge grin on his face. “Thanks, mate.”

“You’re welcome.” Louis turned back to Harry, a wicked grin on his face as he wiggled his finger. “Right, Styles. What should we do with you?”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “Why do I feel like you have your own idea?”

“I do have an idea. Something lasting, like Zayn’s, something I think you’ve wanted for a while.”

“I’m a bit worried.”

“Can I do it? Do you trust me?”

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. “Go on, then.”

Louis pointed at Harry, watching closely as Harry’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Um, did you just-” Harry lifted his t-shirt away from his body and peered in through the neck hole. “Oh my God.”

“What?” Zayn asked eagerly.

Harry laughed in disbelief as he lifted his t-shirt up.

“He pierced my left nipple.”

“Woah!” Zayn laughed.

“Sick,” Harry whispered as he thumbed over it. “Ah. Bit sore.”

“Yeah, well. Now you don’t need to go through the healing process.”

“I love it, honestly.” Harry dropped his t-shirt down. “And I love you.”

Louis heard a quiet gasp from Zayn, and he widened his eyes.

_ “Harry!” _ he growled. “Why would you do that? Why?”

“What?!”

“You do realise in less than two hours, the memory of saying that will just… evaporate from your memory?” Louis scoffed. “That’s so cruel, Harry.”

“I’m sorry! I…” He sighed. “But I feel it, so I’ll still feel it tomorrow, yeah?”

Louis looked at him, unimpressed. “You only said it because I pierced your nipple, anyway.”

“That’s not true. Just say it casually to me, and I’ll think I must’ve already said it.” Harry shrugged before pouting. “You’ve not even said it back.”

“That wouldn’t be fair, because I’d rob you of the memory of saying it to me.” Louis cocked an eyebrow. “And same for the other thing. I don’t want to say that to you for the first time when you’re not going to remember it.”

Harry sighed. “Okay. I suppose that’s fair. I’m sorry. Say it whenever you’re comfortable. And I know I’ll say it back.”

“Hey, Lou?” Zayn said. “Will you pierce my nipple, too?”

“Why?”

“Dunno. It looks fun.” Zayn looked between Louis and Harry. “I’m seeing Liam next week.”

“Ew,” Louis groaned and pointed at Zayn. “Happy?”

“God! Oh. That feels weird.”

“Isn’t it great?” Harry said.

Zayn threw him a look. “It’s weird.”

“Well, give it a go,” Louis said, looking at Zayn sceptically. “You can always take it out if you don’t like it.”

For the rest of the night, the three of them chatted idly and Louis showed them a few more little spells that they were endlessly impressed by. As it approached midnight, Louis walked the two of them downstairs.

“You guys… if, for some reason, the memory erasure doesn’t work, I hope you both know how important it is that nobody else finds out. My life could be at risk.”

“Lou, you know neither of us would do that,” Zayn reassured him.

“No,” Louis agreed. “I know neither of you would  _ tell _ anyone, but no talking about it in public and getting careless.”

“Just how likely is it that the memory erasure fails?” Harry asked.

“I dunno. It’s probably impossible.”

“What’s impossible?” Harry asked.

“For the mem-” Louis paused. Oh. “Harry, what have we done today?”

“We, um…” Harry scratched the back of his neck. “We’ve… just… hung out.”

“Wait,” Zayn said. “What  _ have _ we been doing?”

“Um… it’s like Harry said.” Louis sighed. Midnight. “Just hanging out. Thanks for coming, you guys. I had such a wonderful day.”

“Well, I’m tired. Better head home.” Harry stretched, yawning as he ran his hands down his torso. “Ah! What the fuck?”

“Oh, don’t you remember? We went out and got our nipples pierced.”

“Oh my God!” Zayn said. “I would never… did I? I wondered why my nipple felt weird.”

“We’ve been drinking. You said you wanted it as a surprise for Liam.”

Zayn paused before shaking his head. “It’ll be a surprise, all right.”

“I like it,” Harry said, flicking his own nipple. “Let’s see yours then, Lou.”

“Mine?” Louis said, using it as an excuse to point at himself. He felt a pinch in his nipple. “Here.”

Louis lifted his t-shirt to show Harry, just as his mum walked out into the hallway.

“Louis!” she said, staring in disbelief. “What on earth did you do?”

“I’ll explain later, Mum,” Louis said, shaking his head. “Anyway, Harry and Z have to get home. It’s gone midnight.”

“Oh!” Jay checked her watch. “So it is. You guys have a good day?”

“Yeah.” Louis smiled. “We did.”

-

“Then Harry said the worst thing he could’ve said.”

“Oh no,” Jay said sympathetically. “What?”

Louis rolled his eyes. “He said, ‘I love you’.”

“Honey, that’s wonderful!”

“Is it?” Louis shook his head. “No… I mean, he won’t remember saying it. Plus, I had not long told him about the True Love Test. I planted the idea in his head.”

“Yeah, and maybe he was just really impressed with your magical powers.”

“Hey!” Louis narrowed his eyes. “I just… I’ll never hear it for the first time again from him, and he can’t share that memory with me.”

“But you get to have two. Today’s was just for you, and you can share another one at another time. Did you say it back?”

“No! I didn’t wanna tell him that when he would forget an hour later.”

“Darling, I promise you it’s going to be special, either way.”

Louis knew she was right. It was a wonderful feeling, knowing that Harry felt that way about him - or, at least, was close to it - and it awoke in Louis the realisation that he was probably there, too. 

“Lou?”

“Hm?”

“None of this explains why you have a bar through your nipple.”

“Oh.” Louis laughed. “Well, I wanted both of them to leave with something lasting. I asked them what they wanted, Zayn picked blue hair, and Harry picked a pierced nipple.”

“Why didn’t he just get his nipple pierced? I don’t understand.”

“He was scared of the pain of getting it done, and the recovery, risk of infection and all that.”

Jay paused, before shrugging. “Makes sense, I suppose. Very pragmatic.”

“Then Zayn decided he wanted one, too. When their memories were erased, I had to tell them we all got them done.”

“Ah. Okay. If you say so.”

Louis sighed, lifting his t-shirt and zapping the piercing away. “Happy?”

“Louis, you’re eighteen. What you do with your body is none of my business.” She sniffed. “But, yes. Thank you.”

-

It was odd, having heard Harry say  _ I love you _ but Harry not knowing he had said it. He kept catching Louis staring, but Louis couldn’t help himself. He was completely consumed by the memory, and he desperately wanted Harry to say it. Again.

He didn’t want to say it first. After all, Harry had said at the beginning of their relationship that he wanted to take things slow. Louis wasn’t really sure exactly how far into a relationship was too soon to say it, and so he would rather wait for Harry to say it first. 

Harry got a bar job, and so they didn’t have quite as much time together as Louis had expected, but that was okay. He had a lot of evenings in on his own, so he spent that time working on his elements test and other magic stuff.

“I can’t say for sure, because it’s been centuries since I got my licence. But I’m sure you’ll get tested on potions at some point.”

“Jade already asked me questions about potions,” Louis replied to his mum as he threw a pinch of moon salt into the cauldron. 

“Yeah, she’s asked you about potions _ theory. _ But I would assume there will be a practical test.”

“I dunno,” Louis said with a sigh. “I have very limited knowledge, but I’m not sure young witches actually make potions anymore. You can buy ready made ones cheap, and you’ll only do that if you can’t use a spell instead.”

Jay looked at him, unimpressed. “Are you calling me old fashioned for making potions?”

“It  _ is _ a little… old school. You know, it’s a bit... pointy-hat-and-cackling.”

“Now  _ that’s _ what we used to do on Saturday nights when I was young.”

“Mix potions and cackle?” Louis grinned. “Rebel.”

Jade popped in to Louis’ left, and Jay clutched her chest, startled.

“Making potions?” Jade tilted her head and scrunched her nose. “Huh. Old school.”

“Told you,” Louis whispered to his mum.

“Hello,” Jay said, holding out her hand. “I’m Louis’ mum. I’m the one who has to hoover three times a week to keep on top of all your glitter.”

“Sorry,” Jade said sheepishly. “It’s a family trait. All the Thirlwall women scatter glitter when they do magic. Doctors have been trying to isolate and eradicate the gene for centuries.”

“Oh,” Jay said. “I’m sorry. I thought it was a flourish you had chosen.”

“If I had my way, I’d rather pop in and out with a huge plume of smoke. Far more dramatic.”

“That’s a great way to burn a hole in the ozone layer,” Louis quipped.

“Well, I didn’t come here just to get berated. It’s time for a test.” Jade cleared her throat. “Your next element, please.”

“No offence, but I’ve had this one down for ages and you’ve not even bothered to come and test me.” 

Louis pulled off the rubber gloves he had been wearing and threw them down on the table. He transformed immediately into a pile of dirt, but before he could change back, Niall walked in the room.

“Ooh!” He trotted over, and Louis felt him walking all over him. “Can’t resist a fresh pile of dirt.”

“No!” Jay shrieked. “That’s Louis.”

“What?” Niall cackled. “Oh God! Sorry, mate.”

Niall got off him, and Louis turned back into himself.

“You’re an idiot,” he said to Niall.

“Oh my God,” Niall said, still laughing. “I nearly weed all over you.”

“Why were you even about to wee in the kitchen?” Jay asked. “What, the garden’s not enough for you?”

“Something about the pile of dirt drew me in.” Niall snaked around Louis’ calf. “But that was because it was my best friend!”

“Don’t suck up to me, cat.”

Jay shook her head in disdain. “Jade, would you like a drink?”

“I’d love a cuppa! Thank you.” She turned to glare at Louis. “Louis’ never offered me anything.”

“It never occurred to me that you’d have the time!” Louis protested. “Anyway, you normally disappear before I can even say goodbye.”

Jay and Jade both threw him an unimpressed look. 

-

Zayn returned at the beginning of September, and Liam followed a week later. The four of them began to hang out, which was something that was completely unprecedented at the beginning of the year. Liam was very gentle and soft with Zayn, and Louis still couldn’t quite believe it.

He would suspect foul play, but he was the only witch around here.

Speaking of which, Louis was still struggling with turning into wind and fire. He decided to try fire next, and he took Jade’s advice and tried to channel some anger. The best he had managed so far was getting a bit hot and sweaty. It was a shame, actually, that he no longer hated Liam. He could really have used that rage.

He sat on his bed, concentrating. Niall was staying as far away as possible, sitting on Louis’ desk armed with a fire extinguisher.

“Ni, if you put me out with that stuff, what would happen to me?” Louis frowned. “Hey, would I turn into air? Does that count for my elements test?”

“Of course not. You’re not being tested on your ability to be extinguished.” Niall rolled his eyes. “I don’t think you’d spread unless you tried. But I’m just being cautious. Safety first!”

“Ugh, I can’t do this. Bloody Liam. Turning good right when I needed him to be a little shit.”

“Stop overthinking it!” Niall sighed. “You need to channel a burning within.”

“A burning within? Like acid reflux?”

Niall let out a quiet growl. “I’m going to sleep.”

“No, come on. I need your help.”

“You get enough help from me, and you always take the piss.” Niall turned his back and curled his body up, covering his nose with his tail. “I’ve been awake for two hours, I need a nap.”

“I feed you, even when Mum’s already fed you!” Louis replied in weak protest.

Niall didn’t respond, so Louis closed his eyes and tried to refocus. Searching his brain, he tried to remember when he felt… heated. Riled up.

He thought of the way his and Liam’s relationship used to be. He thought of the way he felt when he found out that Zayn was hanging out with him, and later on when he found out Zayn was seeing him. 

Most of all, he thought of the way he felt when he went into Harry’s dream and saw his own counterpart on top of Harry, the way he felt during their most intimate, quiet moments. The way he felt when Harry reacted to Louis’ tongue on his new piercing.

Louis betrayed a grin, before opening one eye and checking that Niall wasn’t looking at him. He was starting to feel a bit hot and bothered - which was embarrassing, especially with Niall in the room - but he closed his eyes again and channelled the feeling.

He felt hotter and hotter and he zoned in on the sensation, clenching his teeth in sheer concentration, before he felt himself go up in flames. He felt wispy yet powerful, free and easy yet dark and furious. Being free of the confines of his body, he felt as if he could do anything, become anything. His flames were beginning to lick up to the ceiling, so he spun himself around, twisting and twisting until he no longer burnt, instead whipping up into a frenzied gust. He could hear Niall whimpering, and then he fell to the floor with a thud. He was human again.

“Are you okay, man?” Niall asked shakily. 

Louis lifted his head to look at him. “I think so.”

“That was fuckin’ scary shit, Lou!”

Louis sat up, wincing. He was totally going to come up in bruises.

“Yeah?”

“Did ya need to flourish so much? Show off.”

As Niall jumped down to the floor and approached him, there was a tinkling noise near Louis’ head, and pink glitter materialised in the air in front of his face. An envelope appeared and dropped to his lap.

He shook the glitter off and opened it. 

_ ‘Congrats Louis, you passed your elements test. Being at one with the elements is a vital part of your witch studies, and also an important indicator of the strength of your powers.  _

_ Your final witch’s licence exam will take place shortly before your nineteenth birthday. Until then, study hard, and study well. You’ll find enclosed a study guide written by moi, and I hope to see you reading it next time I come to test you. _

_ Jade x’ _

“Cool!” Louis said as a handbook materialised and hit the floor with a light thud. “So, was passing the elements test, like, a huge part of my training?”

“As Jade said, it’s an indicator of your abilities. You can’t master all the powers in the universe until you master those four abilities. You’ve reached a milestone.”

“Yay!”

Niall smiled. “Well done, Lou. I reckon you’ve got potential to be a remarkable witch.”

Louis picked up Niall and put him on his shoulder. “Thank you, Niall. That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. How about we celebrate with some tuna?”

“Yes!”

-

Even though Louis’ classes had started up again, he took Jade’s study guide seriously. 

“But it’s  _ Friday night,” _ Zayn whined. “You can’t stay in!”

“I’ve got a lot of studying to do.”

Zayn folded his arms and cocked an eyebrow. “Really? How come you have so much work to do and Liam doesn’t?”

“Maybe I work harder than him. Ever consider that?”

Zayn shook his head. “No.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Just go out with Liam. You don’t need me anymore.”

“True.” Zayn smirked when Louis glared at him. “Can we at least all go for dinner or something at the weekend?”

“I should have time,” Louis said, looking around for Harry. “Oh, here he comes.”

“Hi, fuckers,” Harry said, bouncing over to them. “What’s happening?”

“You seem… hyper,” Louis said, frowning suspiciously as he kissed Harry on the cheek.

“Can’t I just be in a good mood?”

“Haz,” Zayn said. “You wanna come to a party tomorrow night?”

“Oh.” Harry glanced at Louis. “I was hoping to have dinner with Lou.”

“He’s busy.”

“I’d love to,” Louis told Harry, glaring at Zayn. “Don’t look at me like that, Z. I can go for dinner with Harry and get an early night, which leaves me plenty of time on Saturday morning to study. If I go to that party, I’ll be out until the early hours and Saturday will be a write off.”

“Yeah,” Harry said to Zayn as he draped an arm around Louis’ shoulders. “We want an early night.”

Louis gently elbowed Harry in the ribs. “Sorry, Z. You’ve flown the nest. We don’t need to hold you up anymore. You have Liam for that.”

“I can hold myself up, thank you very much.”

“I’m glad. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have a lecture to get to.”

“Give Liam a kiss from me?” Zayn said.

“Absolutely not.”

Louis kissed Harry, said bye to them both, and headed off to his lecture. Theatre and Adaptation couldn’t hold his attention. He was thinking over Harry’s  _ early night _ comment. They had spent the night together a fair amount of times, but something was starting to bother and worry Louis. He knew his mother had a lot of knowledge and experience in magic and witchcraft, but there was still things that he didn’t feel comfortable asking her.

“Niall…” Louis made a beeline for the cat as soon as he got home. “Can I ask you something? It’s kind of personal.”

“Ooh, yes!” Niall’s eyes lit up in delight. “Go on!”

Louis rolled his eyes as he kicked his trainers off. “I’d appreciate it if you could be a little less enthusiastic about getting all up in my business.”

“I’m just very flattered and touched that you trust me enough to talk to me about such personal matters.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Louis said, sighing as he threw himself down on his bed. “Okay, here it is. You know how when I kissed Harry for the first time, he turned into a frog?”

“Yeah,” Niall replied, chuckling slightly.

“It’s not funny!” Louis whined. “Forget it. I’ll just embarrass myself and ask Mum.”

“No, no. I’m sorry. Go on.”

Louis glared at him and sighed. “Oh, I’m just worried that something might happen to him if we… you know.”

“What?”

“If we have sex.”

“Oh!” Niall tilted his head. “You guys have been together a while, no?”

“Harry’s always wanted to take it slow. But never mind that. Is he gonna turn into a lizard, or something?”

“You’re fine,” Niall reassured him. “You already passed the True Love Test, so you’ve more or less got a free pass when it comes to anti-witch-mortal-relationship stuff. Except for the whole turning into stone thing.”

“The… what?”

“Oh my God,” Niall muttered, jumping down from the bed. “Ask your mum!”

“Hey! No!” Louis leapt up and followed Niall out onto the landing. “You did this with the frog thing as well. Tell me. Now.”

“But I don’t know why Jay hasn’t told you. You’ve spoken to her about telling Harry you’re a witch, haven’t you?”

“A little bit.”

Louis heard the front door open, and he raised his eyebrows at Niall.

“Ask her.”

Louis followed Niall down the stairs. Jay was leafing through the post, which Louis had dumped on the hall table when he came in.

“Hello, Louis. Niall. Good day?”

“Niall, once again, has mentioned a life-changing witch rule but won’t tell me about it.” The three of them walked through to the kitchen. “Something about turning into stone.”

Jay frowned. “Hm. Turning into stone? What context?”

Niall jumped up onto the counter. “Jay, why haven’t you told him? He says you’ve already talked about him telling Harry he’s a witch.”

“Oh. That.” Jay shrugged as she filled up the kettle. “Look, Louis’ new to this world. I don’t want to scare him or think that the Witches Council are a bunch of barbarians.”

“Excuse me?” Louis said. “I’m living with a bloke who has been turned into a cat for a hundred years. My boyfriend was turned into a frog. Hasn’t that ship sailed?”

“Anyway,” Jay continued, ignoring him. “I’ve made it very clear that he has to trust Harry fully if he was to tell him. And to express to Harry in no uncertain terms that telling anyone would put Louis’ life at risk.”

“Will you just tell me?”

“Louis, if you tell a mortal that you’re a witch and they tell someone else, you will turn to stone.”

Louis blinked at Jay, before turning to look at Niall.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I thought maybe there was a reason Jay didn’t tell you.”

“The poor boy can only take so much.” Jay shrugged as she made the tea. “There’s no need to tell him something like that.”

“Stop talking about me as if I’m not here!” Louis protested. 

“Louis, there are a lot of weird and wonderful things that can and do happen to witches. That’s the beauty of having powers and being a witch.” She smiled. “How did that even come up? What were you talking about?”

“Louis asked-”

“Um,” Louis interrupted. “We just got onto the subject of Harry, and Niall said that since I passed the True Love Test with him, it eliminates a lot of the measures put in place to discourage mortal/witch relationships. And then he added, ‘apart from the turning into stone thing’.”

“Oh. Mm.” Jay nodded thoughtfully. “I’d be interested to find out what would happen if you had children with a mortal.”

“Why?”

“Well, you’re half witch, but your children would be quarter witch.”

“But I don’t have less power for it… do I?”

“No. But with the witch blood becoming so… diluted like that, they might just not come into their powers.”

“Like a squib?” Louis asked.

“If you make one more Harry Potter reference-”

“Sorry. God.” 

Jay leaned against the counter and folded her arms. “So, still considering telling Harry?”

“I mean… not right now. But, yeah. I just think it’s inevitable.”

Jay grinned. “That serious about him, huh?”

Louis paused, a smile breaking out across his face. “Yeah.”

Jay looked at Niall and raised her eyebrows. “Well! You’re very young to be so serious.”

Louis shrugged. “It happens!”

-

Jade popped into Louis’ room on the first of October, dressed head to toe in a pumpkin print jumpsuit.

“Happy Halloween!” she yelled, wiggling her fingers and showering him with orange glitter.

“Thirty days, Jade. It’s not Halloween yet.”

“Tis the season, Louis! Halloween celebrations start on the first. In my house anyway.”

“Didn’t you tell my mum you couldn’t control your glitter thing?” Louis shook his t-shirt, and glitter sprayed onto his bed. “Thanks for the letter, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.” Jade checked her nails. “Oh, and I can’t get rid of the glitter, but I can change it. Look.”

She pointed at him, shooting a thin spray of glitter over him. It pooled on his duvet in front of him. It was silver, pieces bigger than her usual sand-like sprinkles. 

“Mm, well.” Louis scooped some into his palm. “It’s not as pretty, sure, but it would be easier to clean up.”

“But then how would I leave my mark?” She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Anyway, feel up for some revision?”

“No test?”

“No more formal tests, but I need to help you prepare.”

Louis smiled. “That’s nice.”

“It’s my job,” Jade said, sitting on the bed next to Louis. “I hope you’ve been reading my book.”

“Of course.”

Louis conjured the book and Jade sat with him for an hour, going through various parts of the book. He asked questions about a few things he wasn’t sure about and, when she finally stood up to leave, he felt fairly confident.

“Thanks, Jade.”

“You’re welcome. Is your mum home? Thought I’d pop and say hi.”

“I think she’s in the living room.” Louis watched Jade walk towards the door, before standing up himself. “Wait. I have another question.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re, like, my age, right?” Louis asked. “How come you’re my teacher?”

“I’m not a teacher. Just a mentor.” She looked in the mirror and ruffled her hair. “And I’m ‘Gifted and Talented’. You know how it is. I got my licence at age twelve.”

“Wow,” Louis said, impressed. “Go you.”

“I’m very remarkable, I know,” Jade said airily, scattering glitter from her fingertips. “See ya.”

She gave Louis’ room one last point before leaving the room, covering it from head to toe in Halloween decorations.

“For fuck’s sake,” Louis murmured.

-

“Woah.” Harry snorted in amusement. “You love Halloween this much?”

“Shut up,” Louis murmured, closing his bedroom door. “It was… kind of forced upon me.”

“Lou, we’ve got to talk about your glitter obsession.” Harry swiped a finger over Louis’ bedside table. “Honestly, it’s everywhere.”

“I’m a drama kid, what do you expect?” Louis said without much conviction. “Can we just get on with it?”

“I’m glad you asked to read through your lines with me,” Harry said with a smile. “Makes me feel useful.”

Louis scoffed. “You’re very useful, babe. Anyway, it’s a good way to study and have a good excuse to be with you at the same time.”

“Aww.” Harry threw himself down on the bed. “Sweet.”

“That’s me.” Louis sat down in his armchair. “Can we start on page six?”

“Hey! What are you doing all the way over there?”

“Lines first. Then cuddles.”

“We can do both,” Harry murmured sadly.

Louis recited his lines as Harry read from the script. He needed prompting once or twice, but mostly he did pretty well. Harry then got the cuddle he was promised, and Louis reverted back to thinking about the idea of telling Harry his secret.

Right now, he would love to be able to zap in some ice cream, and he felt so comfortable with Harry right now that, if he was feeling brave enough, he could just… do it.

He wouldn’t. He was constantly fighting against himself, knowing that he needed to be careful and responsible. Yes, he trusted Harry, but there was no need to tell him. Not now, anyway.

“Do you think we could get dessert delivered?” Harry mused. “Do you know any places that would deliver dessert on its own?”

Louis groaned as he sat up. “Oh, we’ve got loads of dessert stuff in the kitchen. You stay here, I’ll go rustle something up. What do you fancy?”

“What do you have?”

“Seriously, loads of stuff.”

Harry pouted. “Hmm. I could go for some chocolate cake. With vanilla ice cream?”

“Sounds good. I think my mum did a lot of baking today.”

Louis headed downstairs into the kitchen and zapped in two slices of the most indulgent chocolate cake he could imagine.

“Oh?” Jay said, looking at the cake as she walked into the kitchen. “Have you had dinner?”

“Yes,” Louis replied. “Also, I’m nearly nineteen.”

“And?”

“I’m an adult. I can eat whatever I want.” Louis zapped a scoop of vanilla ice cream onto each plate. “You just have to trust me, I suppose.”

“Darling, before you head back upstairs, can we talk about Halloween?”

Louis paused. “What about it?”

“It’s the most important holiday of the year in the other realm. A sacred day for witches and other supernatural beings. It would mean a lot to me if we could spend it together.”

“What day of the week is it on?”

“A Sunday.”

“Then sure.”

“And then I’d like you to have some friends over for a party.”

Louis looked at her like she was crazy. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been to a uni party, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, well, then just have a few people over for some films, then.” Jay shrugged. “I want you to celebrate Halloween. Embrace it.”

“Fine. I’ll have Harry, Zayn, and Liam over.”

“Excellent! Now, get back upstairs. Your ice cream’s melting.”

-

On Halloween morning, Louis woke up with a start. He sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. Jade was standing over him, cackling. 

“What did you do to me?” Louis asked groggily.

“Nothing!” Jade smiled sweetly. “Just held your nose until you choked.”

Louis widened his eyes. “You’re evil.”

“Just a little Halloween prank.”

“Trying to kill me?” Louis scoffed. “What are you even doing here? Working on a bank holiday?”

“Just a morning shift. Hey, if you’re not busy tonight, you’re welcome to come to my house. The Thirlwalls are famous for our Halloween parties.”

“Thanks, that’s really nice. But I can’t.”

“Okay.” Jade watched as Louis pulled himself up into a seating position. “Just one little test and I’ll get out of here.”

“Go on, then.”

“Make me a pumpkin.”

Louis smiled. “No problem.”

He pointed his finger at her, transforming her into a pumpkin, right there on his bed. He cackled loudly.

“Louis!” the pumpkin shrieked. “Not what I meant.”

“Oh!” Louis tilted his head. “Maybe you need to be more careful with your wording, witch genius.”

“You’re a brat.”

“You want me to hollow you out and carve you?”

“Turn me back! Or else I’ll fail you!”

“You wouldn’t.” Louis scoffed before rolling his eyes and changing her back. “Not for something that was, technically, your mistake.”

“Happy Halloween.” Jade shot an obscene amount of glitter out of every finger, covering Louis’ room in orange and a tad of black. “Don’t choke on a jelly snake, or anything.”

She disappeared and Louis chuckled to himself as he climbed out of bed. He had a quick shower before heading downstairs. His mum was in the kitchen, singing along to the radio and seeming very lively.

“Good morning!” Jay said as he emerged. “Happy Halloween!”

“Happy Halloween.” Louis looked around at the decorations his mother had erected since last night. “This place looks… cheerful. What’s for breakfast?”

“Pumpkin pancakes!”

Louis pulled a face. “Well! They sound gross.”

“They’re lovely. I promise.”

The first bite of pancake was a bit weird, but Louis had to admit that they were pretty nice. Jay had handmade them the mortal way, too, which Louis appreciated.

“Don’t you think magically conjured food tastes kinda… flat?” Louis mused as he took the last bite of his pancake stack. “Just like… an undertone of blandness.”

“Nothing that a pinch of salt can’t fix. Usually.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.” Louis took a sip of tea. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“I thought we could spend the day in the other realm. Look through some Halloween markets, exhibitions… maybe swing by a haunted house.”

“So Halloween’s a sacred holiday, but the scare factor is still a big part of it?”

“Of course!” Jay beamed as she stood. “We’re witches, after all.”

“Okay, cool.”

“Do you want some bacon?”

“Yes, please. So, Halloween really is taken very seriously.”

“I keep telling you, darling. It’s the biggest holiday. It’s basically the supernatural Christmas.”

Louis nodded thoughtfully. He did like the odd horror film, but he wondered what happened to witches who weren’t into all that scary stuff. Still, there  _ were _ mortals who didn’t like Christmas.

They headed off to the other realm and to what must have equated to an entire village of market stalls. Louis had never seen his mother so out of control when it came to shopping. She spent a fortune on sweets, snacks, handmade decorations… on top of that, she insisted on carrying all but the larger items, which she zapped home.

“My feet hurt,” Louis complained. “And my arms. Can I zap some of this stuff home?”

“Okay,” she relented. “I just don’t feel like I’ve been shopping if I’m not carrying loads of bags.”

“You’re not carrying these ones!” Louis sighed. “You’ve been living in the mortal realm too long.”

“It’s just not the same otherwise. At least I didn’t make you carry that rocking chair I bought.”

Louis grinned. “True. Where are you even gonna put it?”

“I might convert the loft.”

“We don’t have a loft.”

“I’ll zap one in.”

Louis often wondered if anyone in the magical world had boundaries, but at this point, he tended to just roll with it. His mother was a bizarre mix of someone who avidly clung to the mortal way of doing things, unless it became too inconvenient. There was no way she would ever have had a loft built the mortal way.

He supposed it was better than doing  _ everything _ the magical way. He would never want to become that person.

“There’s a great stall down this way,” Jay said. “Sells other realm horror films. Much better than the mortal stuff.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Mum. Are these gonna, like, scare my friends unconscious, or something?”

“No, no. There’s nothing  _ iffy _ about them. Witches just have a far better understanding of how to scare people.”

“Hmm, alright. I’ll give them a go.”

“Good.” Jay nodded. “By the way, I’m going to a party tonight. I thought you’d appreciate you and your friends being left alone.”

“I do appreciate that. Thank you.”

Louis chose three films, and picked out some fun animated decorations from a stall specialising in mortal realm decorations. The vendor helped him pick out ones that would interact with the films he bought, too, which he thought was cool. So, his friends might get scared. Zayn and Liam could comfort each other, and Louis was willing to take on the burden of looking after Harry.

They headed over to the haunted house, but the queue was so long that they would never have got to the front before it closed. Jay was disappointed, but Louis was secretly relieved. He couldn’t even imagine how scary an other realm haunted house must have been. They headed home instead, where Louis helped Jay make a traditional Halloween meal.

“What do you mean, no meat?” Louis scoffed.

“Irish tradition.”

“And why are we following Irish tradition?”

“We just do in this family. The irish tradition is all about potatoes and apples.”

“I hope you’re not expecting me to serve any of this food to my friends.” Louis peered into his mother’s cauldron. “I don’t think they’d appreciate being served shredded potato.”

“Well. No. This is our meal. But I would like you to give them something.”

Jay pointed at the kitchen table, and four little boxes appeared.

“What are they?”

“Little apple-flavoured cakes.” Jay dried her hands on a tea towel and approached Louis. “Now, mortals have obviously turned Halloween into a day for dressing up and eating sweets until their teeth fall out - which, to be fair, is rooted in tradition, too - but at the end of the day, Halloween is a day for remembering the dead. I want you to give them a cake each, ask them to hold them in hand, and take a moment to remember a deceased relative.”

Louis blinked at his mother. “That ought to give a nice, positive spin on the evening.”

Jay tutted. “It’s important to me, and it should be important to you, too.”

Louis held his hands up in defeat. “I promise we’ll do it.”

“Thank you.” Jay handed Louis a utensil. “Now, mash those potatoes.”

“So, you said this thing is called colcannon?”

“Yup. Mashed potatoes and kale, with milk, butter, and onions.”

Louis pulled a face. “Sounds kinda gross.”

“Well, it’s not. Get to mashing.”

Jay told Louis stories from Halloweens of centuries past as they prepared dinner. Cooking at a cauldron felt more satisfying than Louis could have imagined - he supposed it was in his blood - and once dinner was ready, Louis felt a sense of achievement. The colcannon wasn’t even nearly as bad as he thought it might be, although it could have done with some meat, in his opinion.

“We’ll make it some other time. It’s really good with ham,” Jay told him.

“It tasted okay,” Louis mused. “Not a fan of the texture.”

“Well,” Jay said, sighing as she cleared the table. “I’d like you to do the washing up and tidy the kitchen, then you’re free to eat junk and have fun with your friends.”

“Ugh,” Louis complained. “It’s gonna take me ages.”

Jay let out a laugh. Louis looked at her, and she waggled her magic finger with a roll of the eyes.

“Right,” Louis said with a grin. 

Louis zapped all the washing up in to soak and put things away into cupboards. He washed up magically, one finger towards the sink as he wiped the surfaces down by hand. A job that would have taken his mortal equivalent nearly an hour to do had taken him less than ten minutes. Maybe doing things the magical way wasn’t so bad. 

He went into the living room and set up all the decorations. He hung the pumpkins and bunting, let loose the toy bats, zapped in cobwebs.

“I spend a lot of time clearing away cobwebs,” Jay said as she put her coat on.

“Well, you won’t walk into these in the middle of the night with your face.” Louis winked. “Also, no spiders.”

“No spiders? On Halloween?”

“Mm. Apparently, Liam is deathly scared.”

Jay threw him a dark look. “Really, Lou? It’s Halloween.”

“I know, but Zayn asked me especially to leave spiders out of it. Halloween is supposed to be fun for mortals, and I really don’t think Liam would see the funny side.”

“Alright, fine.” Jay grabbed her scarf. “Right, I’m off. Don’t wait up.”

Louis snorted. “Alright. And thanks, Mum.”

“Have a good time.”

Louis watched his mum head down to the basement, and heard the crackling noise that signified she had been transported to the other realm. He smiled to himself before zapping all the snacks onto the table in front of the sofa. He really, really hoped tonight was going to go well.

Harry turned up first, and they used the precious head start to get snogging out of their system before the others arrived. When Zayn and Liam  _ did _ arrive, Liam’s slightly glazed over eyes told Louis they had probably done the same.

“Snacks!” Liam said ripping his coat off and heading straight to the sofa. 

Zayn grinned at Louis and shrugged. “Sorry about him.”

“It’s alright. I know how kids can get at Halloween.” 

Zayn laughed and held up a blue carrier bag. “Well, we brought shit loads of Haribo.”

“Thanks.” Louis took the bags of sweets and threw them on the table with all the other stuff. “There are some DVDs on the table, why don’t you guys decide amongst yourselves which one we should watch first? I’ll be right back.”

“DVDs?” Zayn snorted. “Whatever happened to Netflix?”

“They’re um… foreign horror films. Very scary.”

Zayn laughed as Louis shrugged before heading into the kitchen. He grabbed the silver serving tray that they almost never used and arranged the little cake boxes on it. When he headed back into the living room, the others were debating over which film to watch.

“But this one’s got zombies on it.”

“This one’s a slasher, though. They’re always fun.”

“Psychological horrors are the scariest, though.”

“Will you guys just pick?” Louis said with a sigh.

“Okay,” Liam said, nodding. “I agree with Harry. Psychological horrors  _ are _ the scariest.”

Zayn shrugged. “Yeah. Okay.”

Louis grinned. Trust Zayn to relent as soon as Liam did.

“Okay, guys. Sit down,” Louis instructed. 

The three lads squashed together on the sofa and looked up at Louis, Liam curiously eyeing the serving tray.

“Just to be real for a sec, my mum takes Halloween seriously. She’s asked that we do something for her.”

He placed the tray on the arm of the sofa and handed a box to each of the boys, keeping the last one for himself. 

“Hold these boxes in your hand, and take a minute to remember a relative who has passed away. Halloween is a day to remember the dead.”

“What is your mum, a witch?” Zayn said with a grin.

“Can you please just do it?” Louis replied, trying his best to not react to the comment. “Take a minute’s silence to remember someone close to you who died.”

Aside from Zayn’s comment, the boys took it seriously, which pleased Louis. After a minute, Louis told them to tuck in, and he put the DVD in. 

Zayn and Liam moved to the big armchair, where they cosied up in a big tangle of limbs, leaving Louis and Harry the sofa to themselves. Louis turned off the lights and sat with Harry.

“The decor is cute,” Harry told him with a kiss to the cheek. “Good job.”

Louis smiled, wondering if Harry would still think it was cute after the film. “Thanks.”

It started off fine. The film was fairly scary, and Liam looked like he might shit himself during the first ten minutes. There was a part of Louis which felt really satisfied by that, despite their reconciliation. 

It wasn’t until the decorations began to interact with the film that Louis’ friends started to really become scared. The first thing that happened was a plastic skull screaming behind Zayn as the main character on the film screamed. Liam yelped in response and clutched at Zayn.

“Oh my God!” he shrieked. 

Louis just cackled, and Zayn looked a little shaken up. Ten minutes later, someone in the film entered a barn filled with bats, and Louis’ bat decorations flew across the room. Liam whimpered, and Harry giggled softly.

“This is sick!” he said to Louis. “I don’t know how you did it, but that’s amazing.”

Louis just draped an arm around Harry’s shoulders and pulled him close. During a lighter scene in the film - even other realm films needed comic relief - Louis somehow ended up finding Harry’s mouth with his own and they became utterly distracted. That was, until Zayn lobbed a handful of N&N’s at them.

“Oi!”

“We’re here for movie night,” Zayn said. “Not an orgy.”

“You need to get laid,” Harry teased. “Liam, come on. This kid’s clearly stressed.”

Liam just threw them a glare as Louis cackled. 

“Piss off,” Zayn retorted.

The supernatural pranks continued, including a shrieking pumpkin and, oddly, a few snakes slithering across the floor. Niall had entered the room at some point, sitting by Louis’ shoulder and chuckling quietly every time a prank scared the mortals. Especially Liam.

Niall took it upon himself to join in, which Louis was annoyed by at first, but it was pretty funny. He loudly repeated the occasional line from the film, making Harry jump every time and Zayn and Liam stare at him in fear.

“I dunno how you’re doing  _ any _ of these pranks, but I really don’t get how your cat is talking,” Zayn said.

“It’s none of your business,” Louis replied.

The climax of the film involved a bloody confrontation, and blood started to leak from the living room ceiling. Louis didn’t know where it was coming from - he didn’t remember buying anything that could cause it - but he assumed and hoped that it was indeed a prank and not real blood.

Harry now felt tense next to Louis, and he started to seem a bit freaked out.

“Lou…” he whispered. “It’s getting a bit sinister. I think the blood is a step too far, if I’m honest.”

Harry was probably right. Even Louis was starting to feel a little bit freaked. 

“It’s alright, babe,” Louis replied softly. “It’s not real.”

Harry glared at him. He was clearly unimpressed. “I  _ know _ that.”

The film ended, and Zayn and Liam went out the front for a smoke. Louis immediately slipped into Harry’s lap for a kiss.

“Mm,” Harry hummed against Louis’ mouth just as he pulled away. “Let’s send the others home and just snog for the rest of the night.”

“Behave.” Louis kissed the tip of Harry’s nose. “Who would eat all this sugar?”

“Whatever.” Harry squeezed Louis’ thigh. “Do you reckon they’re out there, snogging?”

“Liam’s nerves are probably too shot.” Louis shrugged. “Unless that’s how Zayn calms him down.”

“Ugh, stop.” Harry pushed Louis off him and onto the sofa. “I don’t think we should watch another scary film. We’re all a bit on edge, Lou.”

“Aww, but it’s Halloween!”

“I think Liam might have actually let out a bit of wee.”

“Ew.” Louis stood to his feet and swooped Niall up onto his shoulder. “I’ll be right back. Need to feed the cat.”

“Don’t let him talk back to you!” Harry called after him.

Once Louis got into the kitchen, he placed Niall on the counter and raised his eyebrows.

“Who said you could join in?”

“It just felt right!” Niall said, glee evident in his voice. “So, I went for it. They loved it!”

“It’s risky, Niall.”

“It’s Halloween. What are you scared about, that they’re gonna be like, ‘the cat’s talking! You must all be witches’?”

“No.” Louis scoffed and shook his head. “But even Zayn already joked that Mum’s a witch. I’ve got to be careful.”

“That’s exactly what it was! A  _ joke. _ Chill the fuck out.”

“Alright! God.”

“Not God. Just Niall. Now, weren’t you going to feed me?”

“No,” Louis scoffed. “What was I gonna say? I needed a word with the cat?”

Louis left the kitchen without another word and, when he returned, Harry was in the armchair and Zayn and Liam were spread out on the sofa.

“Louis?” Liam said. “Can we  _ please _ watch something that isn’t scary?”

Louis looked at Harry, who was somehow conveying in his expression that Louis should relent.

“Oh, fine.” Louis rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Go on, then. Stick Netflix on.”

Liam clapped his hands and rubbed them together as Zayn grabbed the remote. Louis returned himself to Harry’s lap.

“It’s nice to let someone else have their way, for once,” Harry told him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Louis let out an indignant laugh. “You’re rude.”

Harry just raised his eyebrows, and Louis rolled his eyes, relenting as he kissed Harry on the cheek.

“That’s what I thought,” Harry replied, looking smug.

Zayn and Liam picked some crappy romcom that Louis remembered once trying to watch with Harry, but they ended up snogging instead. This time, it went more or less the same way. Zayn and Liam started to feed each other Haribo before they ended up kissing, and Louis completely gave up on the film and took Harry up to his room.

“I don’t even think they noticed we left,” Harry said with a chuckle as he laid down on Louis’ bed. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”

“As long as no decorations attack them.”

Harry laughed, and Louis pretended to. Maybe he shouldn’t have left Zayn and Liam downstairs alone. Still, he just wanted a few minutes alone with Harry. Halloween was probably the only day he could get away with weird and freaky shit happening, so he wanted to take full advantage. He laid on the bed next to Harry, resting his head on his chest.

“I appreciate all the trouble you went to tonight,” Harry told him. “Even if it  _ was _ a bit too scary for us.”

Louis laughed. “Well, as I said. My mum takes Halloween seriously. So, I’m gonna go ahead and just blame her.”

Harry placed his hand on top of Louis’ and squeezed. Louis cherished these moments. He and Harry, alone, just enjoying being in each other’s company.

“Lou?”

“Hm?” Louis closed his eyes and smiled. He turned his hand over to hold Harry’s. 

“Can I just say…” He cleared his throat. “Um, I love you.”

Louis opened his eyes and smiled. Finally.

“Yeah?” Louis flipped over and looked down at Harry. “I love you too.”

“Really?” Harry asked, beaming. “Oh. Good.”

Louis kissed him. Everything was slotting nicely into place.

If only Louis could tell him his secret.

-

When they returned downstairs, Zayn and Liam were watching the end of the film. Liam kept glancing nervously at Niall.

“He’s not been chatting again, has he?” Louis said with a laugh, hoping to make light of the situation. 

“No. But he’s just… staring at us.” Zayn frowned, pulling Liam closer.

“Oh, don’t worry about him. Strangers make him a bit nervous.”

“Okay,” Zayn said, seeming unconvinced. “Look, me and Liam are gonna head home.”

“So soon?” Louis asked, a sense of relief washing over him. “Ah, well.”

“Yeah, we… fancied an early night,” Liam said.

Harry snorted, and Louis elbowed him.

“Alright. See you tomorrow. We’re still going to the fireworks next weekend, yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

Zayn and Liam stood up and started to get ready, putting their shoes and coats on. Louis fetched a carrier bag and bagged up some of the leftover snacks. 

“Take these. Please.”

“Oh, cheers.” Zayn took the bag and looked at Harry. “You coming, mate?”

“Nah. I’ll stay and help Lou tidy up.”

Louis smirked, and so did Zayn.

“Alright. See ya later, lads.”

Liam gave a wave - he still seemed to be suffering from his nerves a bit - and Louis closed the door.

“You really don’t need to help me tidy up.” 

Louis meant it. If Harry stayed to help tidy up, they would have to do it the mortal way. If Harry cleared off, he could clean up with magic. 

“No. I want to.”

“Well… okay. Why don’t you go and take the decorations down from the front of the house?”

“Aww, leave them up until the morning.”

Louis sighed. “Fine! Will you… go and do the washing up for me?”

“Um, sure.”

Harry disappeared into the kitchen and Louis sighed in relief. He waited until he could hear the taps running, and he zapped away the rubbish, tidied up the remaining snacks, and put the DVDs over on the shelf. 

“Thanks for everything, decorations,” Louis said with a sigh. “You terrified my friends, but Halloween’s over.”

“No it’s not,” a pumpkin by the window replied miserably.

“Sorry. There’s just only so much that mortals can cope with.”

There were murmurs of dissent from around the room, but Louis zapped the decorations down into the basement. It wasn’t even midnight yet, and Louis pondered whether this was a big fat fail. Still, his friends had been scared, surely that was good enough.

He headed into the kitchen. Harry was scrubbing away at a cauldron, and Louis widened his eyes. He should never have sent Harry to do the washing up.

“Um, take a break,” he told him. “Sit down with me.”

“A break?” Harry asked, surprised. “I’ve only just started.”

“You must’ve zoned out or something! I’ve finished the living room.”

“What?!” Harry scoffed, throwing the soapy sponge into the cauldron and drying his hands on a tea towel. “I’m definitely taking a break, then.”

“Haz, was this little gathering a complete disaster?”

“No way! We were all terrified!”

Louis scoffed. “I dunno. I don’t think Liam appreciated it.”

“Hey. He’s probably just grateful you didn’t have loads of spiders scuttle at him.”

“It’s only eleven-thirty.”

“We had fun.” Harry kissed him. “Promise.”

“Okay.”

Louis heard a door slam, muffled and distant.

“What was that?” Harry asked, frowning.

“Um… sounds like my mum’s car door. I guess she’s home.”

“That didn’t sound like a car door.”

Louis shrugged. “Yeah, her car’s… um, a hybrid. They sound weird.”

In reality, Louis knew it was probably the portal door down in the basement. Sure enough, his mum peeked around the kitchen door a few seconds later.

“Hi, Mum.”

“Everybody gone already?”

“No,  _ Harry’s _ still here.”

Harry leaned forward to wave at her. 

“Oh! Hello, Harry. Where are the others?”

“They had enough fear for one night.” Louis raised his eyebrows, trying to convey that supernatural forces had been at work. “Those films and the decorations  _ you _ set up were too much for them.”

Jay glanced at Harry, before looking back at Louis and smiling.

“Sorry, darling. Too intense?”

“A bit.”

“I’d say,” Harry said with a snort. “Um, I’m gonna head off home.”

Louis walked him to the front door, kissed him goodbye and returned to the kitchen.

“Was it really bad?” Jay asked him.

“No, no. The only thing that scared  _ me _ was when blood started to drip from the ceiling.”

“Ah. A classic.” Jay pouted in thought. “I hope it didn’t stain.”

“Everything’s cleared up. Back to normal. No lasting damage.” Louis paused. “Except maybe Liam’s nerves.”

“Did you get your friends to think about their dead relatives?”

“Yeah. They did it.”

“Thank you, darling.”

-

“Hey, Lou?”

Louis looked up from the play he was trying to read. “Hm?”

Harry chewed on his thumbnail. “Is it okay that it wasn’t a relative I was thinking of on Halloween, when you asked us to think of a passed relative?”

“Sure,” Louis replied softly.

“I had this friend when I was a kid.” Harry sniffed and looked down at the table. “We were friends throughout primary school, and we went to the same secondary school. In the summer before year eight, he went on holiday and died in a car crash. God, it was awful.”

Louis’ heart plummeted. “Harry, I’m sorry.”

“I just like to think of him sometimes. Wonder what kind of adult he would’ve been.”

Louis placed a hand on top of Harry’s and squeezed. Harry smiled gratefully in return, and he looked so raw and open and honest. Louis took a breath. He craved being that open and honest back.

“Sorry for bringing the mood down,” Harry said. “I just wanted to share that with you. And just to say that I did appreciate the moment.”

Louis smiled softly. “My mum would be glad that you got something out of it.”

Harry mirrored his smile. “I feel like I can tell you anything, you know.”

Louis thought about it all the way home. When he got in, the whole house was quiet. His mum was at work and Niall was likely having a mid-afternoon snooze. Louis sighed and threw his bag down onto the sofa. 

“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered to himself for no real reason. He sat on the sofa, kicked his shoes off, and swung his legs up onto the arm.

He tried to balance the pros and cons of telling Harry he was a witch. Pro: no secrets. Con: what if he thought Louis was a freak? Con: Harry could tell someone and Louis would be turned to stone. Con: Harry might not think Louis was a freak, he might not tell anybody, but he might treat Louis differently.

No secrets. Louis wouldn’t have to hide anything from Harry any longer. He could confide in him about magical things. He could share stories that would blow Harry’s mind. He could take advice from Harry, an objective mortal view when Louis got too caught up in the supernatural mindset.

As he had said before, if Louis thought he had any kind of future with Harry, telling him was an inevitability.

When Jay got home, Louis zapped in dinner, woke Niall up, and the three of them sat around the table.

“Mum,” Louis said before taking a deep breath. “I’ve decided. I’m going to tell Harry I’m a witch.”

Jay paused, fork halfway to her mouth. She finally raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

“It’s your decision, Louis.” Jay sighed. “You’re very young. You haven’t long come into your powers.”

“Nearly a year!” Louis protested.

Jay took a deep breath and levelled Louis with a look. 

“You’re very young,” she said again. “This probably isn’t it for you. You’ll likely get into other relationships.”

Louis scoffed loudly. “Really? So, what? Am I supposed to just keep lying to Harry and just, I don’t know, wait around and wait for our relationship to end because  _ we’re very young?” _

“Lou, come on. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m being realistic.”

“I love him,” Louis stated. “You don’t know if it’ll last, and neither do I, but he’s a significant part of my life. I’m sorry, but I really don’t think I’ll end up regretting this.”

“Of course, it’s up to you. You know best.”

Louis paused. “I do.”

-

Louis settled down a bit once he made a decision.

He would wait until he got his licence, and that was final. He would feel more like a real witch, then. Apparently, there were more spells he would be able to use and his powers would get stronger, which was cool. He would also be allowed to fly, which was a terrifying concept, until Niall told him exactly  _ how  _ he would fly.

“Why do you  _ think _ Dysons are so expensive?” Niall laughed. “They’re, like, the Porsche of vacuum cleaners. The best flyers by a mile.”

“That sounds so fake.”

“What, you think I’m gonna talk you up onto the windowsill and let you fall to your death, Dyson in tow?” Niall rolled his eyes. “Of course I wouldn’t. What a waste of a Dyson!”

“Fuck off,” Louis said with a laugh.

“You’ll honestly love flying. You don’t even need to take a test, but you need to read the handbook. Learn how to dodge planes, and all that.”

“What?!”

“Don’t worry, we’re not that close to an airport.”

“Right,” Louis said with a nod. “Terrifying.”

“Promise me you’ll take me on a ride?” Niall pleaded, desperation evident in his voice. “I miss it so much!”

“Yeah,” Louis agreed, scratching Niall behind the ears. “Of course I will.”

Niall purred, and Louis smiled down at him. Louis looked forward to getting his licence so much, even though he didn’t really know how different it would make his life. So, he would be able to use more spells, and he would be able to fly. But there had to be more to it.

“Ni, what else can I do with my witch's licence?”

“You can’t  _ do _ anything with it. It’s not a credit card.” Niall looked up at him. “But once you have it, you can take part in other realm elections, hire a car, fight demons, order wine in-”

“Um, did you just say  _ fight demons?” _

“Yeah. It’s a popular activity for teens and young adults. Kind of like the other realm equivalent of paintballing.”

“Oh!” Louis rolled his eyes. “And I have to have my witch's licence for it?”

“It involves a lot of hide and seek type stuff. You know, popping in and out of the universe and disappearing, things like that.”

Louis blinked. “Right.”

Niall left the room to go out for the night, doing whatever it was that cats did. Louis was about to head downstairs to watch some TV, when Jade popped into the room.

“Time’s a-ticking! Your witch's licence exam is in one month!”

“I’m painfully aware, but thank you.” Louis looked at her pointedly, before zapping a tin of biscuits into his left hand. “For you.”

Jade frowned, taking the tin. “I would say it’s the thought that counts, but…”

“I’m learning, aren’t I?”

Jade threw the tin in the air and it disappeared. “Before you start, I’ve sent it to my house. And I’d rather you learn your magic rather than remembering to give me gifts.”

“Make up your mind,” Louis grumbled. “Anyway, I have been studying. Ask me something.”

“What’s the key ingredient in a potion to help someone reach their full potential?”

“Hmm… wait.” Louis paused to think. “Dried bat wing!”

“Which one?”

“Left. Always the left.”

“And what happens if you use a right one instead?”

Louis bit his bottom lip. “They’ll veer off course and spiral out of control.”

“Mm,” Jade hummed with a nod. “A bit like your cat.”

“He’s not here. Don’t waste your breath trying to make digs at him.”

Jade shrugged, checking her nails. “That’s a shame. Okay, well. Keep up the good work, and I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you!”

Jade scoffed and responded with a flick of glitter.

“Ow!” Louis whined. “You got some in my eye.”

“See ya.”

Louis grumbled under his breath as he rubbed his eye. There was a knock at his bedroom door, and he sighed as he walked over to open it.

“What’s up, Mum?”

“Was Jade just here?” she asked, looking around suspiciously, before seeing a pool of glitter on the floor. “Ah.”

“No,” Louis said in gentle sarcasm. “I snuck a girl up here.”

Jay pulled a face, before rolling her eyes and retreating from the room.

-

“I can’t believe you already have an assessment,” Zayn said to Harry, shaking his head. “I’ve only just settled back into the school year.”

Louis glanced at him sideways and snorted. Harry was having a bit of trouble with writing a song, and no matter how much Louis had tried to  _ inspire _ him, he hadn’t managed. Harry scribbled at the notebook in front of him and growled.

A potion to help Harry reach his full potential seemed a bit too broad. God knows where that would lead. He needed something to make him focus.

Casually, Louis pulled his phone out and started to scroll his magic app. There had to be something that could just help Harry tap into the ability that Louis knew was there. It just needed to be a teeny tiny spell. 

Aha. He found a potion recipe in the intelligence section.  _ Helps the target to focus on tasks at hand. Perfect for students. _

“Great,” Louis murmured.

“Hm?” Harry said, turning his head towards Louis but not taking his eyes off the notebook in front of him.

“Um, I have to just pop home for a bit. But I’ll come round later?”

Harry inhaled through clenched teeth. “Uh, I really have to get this done.”

“I won’t distract you. I promise.”

Harry cracked a smile. “I don’t believe you, but I know you’d never hinder me. Fine, I’ll see you later.”

“Great.” Louis pecked Harry on the mouth, before turning to Zayn, who was pouting for a kiss, too. Louis pressed his fist into Zayn’s lips, pretending to punch him. “Piss off. Liam’s literally just over there.”

“He’s too busy to pay attention to me.”

“I know the feeling,” Louis said, frowning at Harry.

-

“Ooh!” Jay squealed, walking into the kitchen and peering into the smouldering cauldron. “What ya brewing?”

“This potion?” Louis held his phone out to his mum. “Any good?”

“I’ve not used it myself,” Jay replied, peering at the screen. “But from the ingredients, it seems pretty mild. I hope you’re not expecting anything grand.”

“That is all he needs. A little nudge in the right direction.”

“Then it sounds perfect!” Jay smiled. “Um, who’s it for?”

“Harry. He has to write a song for an assessment and he just can’t get it out.”

“Should do the trick.” Jay smiled. “Love seeing you using your magic, darling.”

Louis grinned. “I can’t wait to get my licence and be able to use even more spells.”

“As long as you’re responsible.”

“I know, I know.”

Once the potion was completed and cooled, Louis mixed it up in a smoothie and headed over to Harry’s. Harry greeted him with a wide smile.

“Hey, doll.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Trying out a new pet name?”

“Yeah!”

“I hate it.”

Harry pouted. “Aww.”

“Turn that frown upside down.” Louis shook the flask he carried in his hand. “I brought you a smoothie. Homemade.”

“Yeah?” Harry asked, clearly impressed. “That’s really sweet, doll.”

“Watch it.” Louis pushed past him and headed to Harry’s room. “Now, it’s got all these nutrients, and stuff, that should help you to focus and concentrate.”

“You’re the best.” Harry pecked him on the cheek.

Louis watched closely as Harry sipped the smoothie, humming in approval and nodding. He liked it. Louis felt somewhat bad that he was… contaminating Harry like this, but it was all for his own good. He would appreciate it.

Or maybe he wouldn’t, but it was too late for all that.

“It’s really good, Lou. Want some?”

“No, no. Thanks. Finish it. It’s three of your five a day.”

Well, he pulled  _ that _ out of his arse. But Harry accepted it and continued to drink.

-

They sat side by side on Harry’s bed, knees touching as Harry worked on his song. Louis was revising via a witch's licence study guide app, listening to Harry tapping away at his laptop and humming quietly.

“Babe, I don’t know  _ what _ was in that smoothie, but I am on fire!”

“Aw. I knew you had it in you.” Louis leaned forward to kiss Harry’s cheek. “Take a break soon, love.”

“In a minute.”

Harry furiously tapped away for a few minutes longer, before pushing his laptop away and standing.

“Going for a wee. You want a drink?”

“I’d rather one from the kitchen.”

“Oh, ha ha.” Harry rolled his eyes. “Back in a few.”

Louis was pleased with himself. Just as he got lost in a daydream, he was startled by Jade appearing in a puff of glitter.

“And where are we?” Jade asked, looking around quizzically.

“We’re at Harry’s,” Louis said in a hushed tone. “You need to go.”

“Weren’t you thinking of telling him you’re a witch?”

Louis sighed. “Yes. I’m going to. But not yet.”

“Don’t you get bored with mortals?” Jade asked. “Not bored, exactly, but… impatient?”

Louis scoffed. “I get bored with witches, actually.”

_ “Witches _ bore you?”

“Yup,” Louis replied with a sigh. “You’ve got powers, same as me. What’s interesting about that?”

There was a quiet creaking sound, and Louis jerked his head around to the door. Harry was standing there, looking overwhelmed and terrified.

“Well,” he said quietly before clearing his throat. “Who’s this?”

Louis was frozen. He didn’t know how to come back from this. How much had Harry heard?  _ Fuck. _ This was a disaster.

“Uhhh….” Jade drew out the sound, as if to stall for time. Badly. She turned to Louis. “Right, I’m gonna go so you can put a memory spell on him.”

“You’re gonna put a  _ what?”  _ Harry croaked.

Louis grabbed hold of Jade’s wrist. “Um… I can’t.”

“And why not?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Because he just drank a smoothie with a mind-altering potion in. The spell won’t work.”

_ “What?!” _ Harry shrieked.

“Very mild,” Louis said, turning to Harry and smiling placatingly. “Just to help you write your song.”

“This is a mess,” Jade said with a groan. “Right. There’s only one thing you can do.”

“Oh.” Louis sighed with relief. “Cool, what is it?”

“You’re gonna need to keep him captive for forty-eight hours.”

-

They popped into Louis’ room, and immediately he started to pace.

“This is ridiculous,” Harry scoffed, folding his arms and sitting down on Louis’ bed.

“There has to be another way,” Louis asked Jade.

“Only if you  _ want _ to become a stone statue.” Jade rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall of Louis’ bedroom. “The potion will be out of his system in forty-eight hours, so until then…”

“Alright, whatever. Can you leave us alone for a bit? I’d like to talk to Harry in private.”

Jade paused before shrugging. “‘Kay. I’ll be back to check on you both.”

She disappeared in a tornado of glitter and Harry’s eyes widened like saucers.

“Woah!” He nodded, impressed. “That was cool, to be fair.”

Louis groaned and hung his head. This was too much to deal with.

“So,” Harry said. “What’s going on?”

“What a question.”

“First of all: am I dreaming? Or in some other altered state?”

Louis sighed. “No. I gave you a potion which just helped you concentrate a bit. You’re not drugged, or anything.”

“Can you explain why I’m being held captive?”

Harry seemed way too calm and composed. Like..  _ way _ too calm and composed. It led Louis to think that maybe an explanation would go completely over his head right now, so he opted to keep it simple.

“I’m a witch, and if you tell anyone, I’ll turn to stone.” Louis shrugged nonchalantly. “I can put a memory spell on you in forty-eight hours, but until then, I can’t let you go.”

Harry tilted his head. “In case I tell someone?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t you trust me, Lou?” Harry frowned, and Louis stomach lurched. He looked so hurt. “Seriously?”

“It’s not that, it’s…” Louis sighed. “Look, telling a mortal is a big deal. Very,  _ very _ frowned upon.”

“A mortal?” Harry snorted softly. “So, you’re saying you’ll get into trouble if you don’t erase my memory?”

“Not… not really…”

Harry shook his head. “This is such a weird dream.”

Louis felt icky about this entire situation. Even if Harry was happy to pretend this was all a dream that he would wake up from, Louis couldn’t bear the thought of what must be going through Harry’s mind. It must have been a very scary position to be in, as much as Harry was trying to suppress it. Maybe Harry wouldn’t remember this whole saga in forty-eight hours, but Louis would live with it forever. 

“Babe?” Louis said softly. “Look. This isn’t a dream. I’m a witch and so is my mum. That girl who was with us earlier is my mentor. Her name is Jade and she’s helping me prepare for exams for my witch's licence. I promise I was going to tell you about it all as soon as I got my licence.”

Up until now, Harry had seemed to be in the clouds a bit, clearly thinking he had lost his mind or something. Now, though, Louis felt like Harry’s eyes were beginning to focus, and his brain was starting to comprehend exactly what was happening. Louis saw the early signs of a complete freak out all over Harry’s face.

“You’re lying,” Harry stated. “You have to be.”

Louis sighed, before pointing on the bed in front of them. An apple materialised out of thin air, and Harry gasped, eyes widening.

“No, no! Oh my God.” Harry shook his head. “It’s a dream. It’s a dream.”

“Not a dream,” Louis replied, trying not to sigh. “Look.”

He picked up the apple and transformed it into a rolled up newspaper, which he swatted at Harry’s arm with.

“Ow.”

“See.”

Harry frowned as he rubbed his arm. “Okay. Um. What does this mean? Are you… evil?”

“No.” Louis shook his head. “Look, I’m the same person you know, just with magical powers. I’m a normal guy.”

Harry scoffed as he massaged his temples.

“Okay. I’m really trying to get my head around this.”

“Look, you’ll be back to normal in a couple of days when I erase your memory. Please don’t stress too much.”

Harry blinked at him. “Will you get me some Maltesers?”

“Ah, well. I can’t conjure brand names, but I can conjure a knock-off.” Louis held his palm out and pointed at it, conjuring a small blue bag of malt balls. He peered at the label. “Here. Maltoozers. Not the best name, I have to say.”

Harry took them, eyes widening once again. “Woah. Oh! This explains the N&N’s.”

“Exactly!” Louis laughed. 

Harry yanked open the packet of Maltoozers and popped one in his mouth.

“Mm, they’re okay.”

Louis watched Harry pour some more of the chocolates into his palm. 

“So,” Harry said through a mouthful of chocolate. “You’re gonna erase my memory because you think I’m gonna tell everyone.”

“That’s not it.” Louis sighed. He had to remember that his mum and Jade were more experienced witches than he was, and if they thought Harry shouldn’t know, maybe they had good reason. “Look, it’s just the way it is. The witch community as a whole is still very prejudiced against mortals. You don’t want to know what happened the first time we kissed.”

“What?!” Harry shook his head quickly. “You have to tell me!”

“Oh, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it when I tell you for real that I’m a witch.”

Harry frowned at him so deeply that it was almost a scowl. 

-

Louis turned the page of Jade’s witch’s licence handbook, a second before the lady herself popped in.

“Oh! Hi,” Louis said, smiling serenely.

Jade folded her arms and looked around the room suspiciously.

“And where’s Harry?”

“Harry?” Louis asked. “Oh, I sent him home. He had a lot of work to do for his assessment.”

“You  _ what?”  _ Jade shrieked. “Have you lost the plot?”

Louis threw the book to the bed. “Look, I was always going to tell him. He kept asking me why I would be erasing his memory, and asking why I didn’t trust him.” Louis shrugged. “He had a good point. What’s the point of going to all his trouble to erase his memory, only to tell him in, what? A few weeks? I know you probably know best, but I just realised that it was all a bit pointless. Keeping him here for no reason, essentially.”

Jade blinked at him for a couple of seconds before shrugging. “Whatever. It’s your funeral.”

“I trust him,” Louis said in a singsong voice.

“Good luck. See ya later.”

Jade popped out and Louis sighed. He swept as much glitter off of the bed and onto the floor as he could, before he decided to pay Harry a visit. He headed towards his door before stopping.

“Oh, right. I can do  _ this.”  _ He zapped himself straight into Harry’s bedroom. Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. “Sorry, babe.”

“Louis.” Harry clutched at his chest. “God, that was fucking weird.”

Louis sat on the edge of the bed. “I told Jade that I let you go.”

“What did she say?”

“That it was my funeral.”

Harry stared at Louis for a second before shrugging. “Well, you’re not stone.”

“I’m fully aware,” Louis said, a grin breaking across his face. “I love you.”

Harry just frowned and hugged his knees to his chest.

“Louis?” he asked in a small voice. “If you’re not gonna erase my memory, and you want us to stay together, I think you’re gonna need to tell me stuff. Like, our first kiss?”

“Fine. Just… don’t freak out, okay?”

“I mean, I’ll try, Louis,” Harry said, clearly irritated. “I mean, fuck knows what you’re about to tell me. But, sure, I’ll try to remain calm.”

“Baby, look. I know how you feel. When my mum told me I was a witch, I was totally freaked out.”

“Can you please just tell me?”

Louis took a deep breath. “Okay. So, as I said before, witch/mortal relationships are very frowned upon. One way they try to discourage them is that when a witch kisses a mortal for the first time, the mortal turns into a frog.”

Harry stared at him, unimpressed. “What?”

“So… you turned into a frog.” Louis shrugged. “The next thing I know, my mum’s carting me off to the other realm - you know, um, the supernatural realm - to take this test.”

Harry let out a strange, quiet whine. “What kind of test?”

Louis smiled. “A test of true love. I had to prove that our relationship was the real deal and had the potential to be true love. When I did, you were turned back.”

“But what did the test entail?”

“That’s a story for another day. Save some for later.”

“Fine.” Harry pressed his mouth and nose against his knee, looking up at Louis. “So. True love, huh? You knew even back then?”

Louis bit his bottom lip to stop himself from smiling. “Yep. And, you know… you told me you loved me back in August.”

“I did not!”

“You did,” Louis insisted. “On Friday the 13th, I told both you and Zayn that I was a witch, and your memory was automatically erased at midnight. You told me you loved me, and then your memory of it was gone.”

Harry stretched his legs out in front of him and folded his arms. He shook his head, sighing as he looked at Louis.

“I have to say, it feels like I’ve been manipulated a lot.”

Louis pouted and nodded. “Mm, well. I’m not gonna pretend like that’s not true. But I always had your best interests at heart.” Louis paused before wincing. “Uh, except…”

“Except what?” Harry deadpanned.

“I have to confess. When you and Zayn went on a date, I spied on you.”

“Oh,” Harry said, cocking an eyebrow. “Jealous?”

“I really was. Of course I was! I fancied the pants off of you.”

Harry threw him a disdainful look. “Oh, Louis.”

“I’m really sorry.” Louis shuffled until he was sitting next to Harry. “Look, it took me a minute to find my feet once I came into my powers. I did a bad thing, I know.”

“How did you spy on us?”

“Turned myself into a fly.”

Harry scoffed. He glanced sideways at Louis, before sighing and draping his arm across Louis’ shoulders.

“So, how am I supposed to know that you won’t be spying on me anymore?”

Louis shook his head. “You don’t, I suppose. But we’ve been together, what? Eight, nine months? I’ve not spied on you in that time. Ever.”

“So, I just have to trust you?”

“Yup.”

“Well…” Harry sighed. “You’ve put a lot of trust in me with this secret, and you’ve got a lot more at stake. So, I suppose I can trust you, too.”

“You suppose?” Louis asked with a soft smile.

Harry smiled back and kissed him.

-

It felt, to Louis, that Harry had taken it very well. Maybe it had something to do with him always having a fascination for the supernatural, but he seemed to more or less accept it.

He did, however, have the odd moment of disbelief.

“No, that’s impossible! I refuse to believe you went skiing on Mars.”

“It’s true!” Louis laughed. “I’ll take you there, one day.”

“Wait…” Harry narrowed his eyes. “Your ski instructor…”

“I know what you’re gonna say-”

“Don’t tell me you nearly dumped me for an alien.”

“There it is. You said the same thing when I told you on Friday the 13th.” Louis rolled his eyes with a grin. “I didn’t nearly dump you, and no, he wasn’t an alien.”

“At least I’m consistent, I suppose.”

They were sitting opposite each other on Louis’ bed, each with a plated sandwich in front of them. Harry had been reading through the licence handbook, testing Louis whilst he read in disbelief.

“Hey,” Harry said. “On Halloween…”

“Other realm films, with decorations that were programmed to interact with what was on screen. By all accounts, what you guys saw was tame. You can rent real monsters and stuff.”

“Well, thank you for not doing that.”

Louis took a bite of his sandwich as Harry leafed through the handbook with one hand. Harry suddenly jerked his head up to look at Louis once again.

_ “Monsters?” _

“Look, there’s nothing scary about being a witch, so there’s  _ really _ nothing for you to be scared of.” Louis smiled placatingly. “Except at Halloween.”

“It’s cool, just… finding out all the mythical things I was scared of as a kid are actually real.”

“You get used to it,” Louis said as Niall walked in the room. “Did I tell you Niall’s a criminal?”

“Yeah,” Harry replied, looking at Niall warily. 

“I just went a bit power mad!” Niall protested as he jumped up on the bed. Louis quickly picked up his plate. “I’m not a bad person.”

“Only because he’s learnt his lesson now, after being turned into a moggy.”

“Excuse me,” Niall scoffed. “Moggy is a derogatory term. I’m a pedigree.”

“Are there even any native Irish cat breeds?” Louis jibed.

“Yes, me,” Niall snapped.

Harry was watching the exchange with wide eyes. Louis stood up and picked Niall up by the armpits.

“Right, get out.”

“What did I do?”

“Me and Harry want some privacy.” Louis threw him out onto the landing unceremoniously. “See ya.”

He slammed the door behind him and turned to Harry.

“Sorry about that.”

“Is he okay?” Harry frowned.

“Oh, he’s fine. You know cats.”

Harry rubbed his temples.

-

As it turned out, having Harry to revise with helped Louis a lot. Louis got to do his revision at the same time that Harry got to learn about magic and who Louis really was, so it was a win win situation.

Louis would turn nineteen in five weeks and his final exam was in two. He was as nervous as anything, but he was very grateful he had Harry on side. Jade popped by occasionally to give him some last minute tests, and Louis was finally starting to feel like he was ready. 

“It’s cold,” Zayn complained as he sat down at their regular table in the cafe. “Where’s Harry?”

“He’ll be here in a minute,” Louis replied. “His class ran late.”

“Hey, what are you doing for Christmas?”

Louis tore his eyes away from the door - he was watching for Harry - and shook his head at Zayn. “What? That’s over a month away.”

“Are you going back to Donny to see your family?”

“Dunno? Probably.”

“Can you believe we’ve been here nearly a year?” Zayn chuckled quietly. “Sick, mate. Thanks for being my friend on that first day.”

“A decision I regret every minute of my life, ever since.”

“Piss off,” Zayn laughed. “Oh, Harry’s here.”

Maybe it was Louis’ imagination, but he felt like every time he and Harry were in public now, Harry always had a glint in his eye. A visualisation of the secret they kept together. Harry ruffled Zayn’s hair before leaning down to kiss Louis.

“You guys not having a drink, or what?”

“Oh, I’d love a tea,” Louis said, grinning.

“Oh, yeah, I could go for a flat white,” Zayn added.

Harry rolled his eyes. “I hate you guys. Back in a minute.”

Louis laughed as Harry skulked off. It was okay. Liam was working and would give him a discount if he couldn’t get away with giving him freebies. 

“How are things going with Liam?” Louis asked Zayn.

Zayn looked over his shoulder to where Liam was chatting to Harry.

“Really good, man. Really good.” A smile broke across Zayn’s face. “He’s gonna drive up to Bradford for Boxing Day and meet my family.”

“Z, that’s great,” Louis replied softly. “I’m so happy for you. Now I know why you were asking about Christmas.”

“I mean, I was waiting for you to ask what I was doing.”

Louis let out a laugh. “Aw. Meeting the parents is exciting. I haven’t met Harry’s mum yet.”

“It’s not exciting! It’s terrifying.”

“What’s terrifying?” Harry asked as he returned to the table with a tray of hot beverages. 

Zayn looked at Louis with a smirk.

“Um…” Louis began. “Zayn’s bringing Liam home for Boxing Day. We’re just talking about the whole ‘meeting the parents’ thing.”

“Ugh, yeah. Terrifying.” Harry sat down next to Louis. “Except meeting your mum. Your mum’s fine.”

“True,” Zayn agreed.

Harry leaned in to kiss Louis’ cheek.

“Lovely woman,” Harry whispered in Louis’ ear. “But what a witch.”

Louis snorted loudly, startling Zayn. He swatted at Harry’s ribs gently, grinning.

-

“I have to go to the other realm for the weekend,” Jay told Louis as she zapped dinner onto the table. “Can I trust you not to throw a party?”

“You know what? It’s been ages since I went to a uni party. Maybe it’s time I give back and throw one.”

“Don’t you dare,” Jay said in a singsong voice. “I’m leaving Niall in charge.”

“I’m obviously joking,” Louis said. “I’m about to turn nineteen, I think I can stay in the house on my own for two days without the cat keeping me on the straight and narrow.”

“I wouldn’t leave an unlicenced witch unattended for the whole weekend.”

“Meaning what?”

“You never know what kind of magical emergency you might encounter.” Jay sat down opposite Louis and raised her eyebrows. “You might not be able to handle it.”

“And the cat can?”

“Like it or not, Niall knows his stuff. You know that. He’s helped you a lot, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah. He has.”

Jay paused before clasping her hands together. “I’ll be meeting with Niall’s probation officer this weekend. But don’t tell him, okay?”

“Okay. Um, what for?”

“Well, he has been a cat for twenty five years, now, and they might let him off early for good behaviour. I’m gonna put in a good word for him. I personally think he’s learned his lesson, don’t you?”

“I guess?” Louis shrugged and finally picked up his fork to begin eating. “I mean, he’s certainly regretful about being turned into a cat.”

“I think he would just like to live a normal life again. I think the whole taking over the world ship has sailed.”

“Well, I hope for his sake the witches council see it the same way. What else are you up to over there?”

Jay paused, looking down at her dinner before looking up and smiling at her son.

“A job interview.”

“Oh! Cool.”

Niall strolled in ten minutes later, and Louis couldn’t help but smile. Niall might get to be human again. Jay might get a new job. Harry knew Louis’ secret and didn’t run for the hills. 

It was beginning to look like the year was rounding out into a nice, neat ending.

-

Everything was falling apart.

His mum had indeed got her job, but it was in the other realm, and it turned out that she needed to move.

“It isn’t the end of the world,” she said placatingly. “Look, you can transfer to the Other Realm University, or you could stay at your current uni and commute. Rush hour is a nightmare, though.”

“I can’t move!” Louis wailed. “What about Harry?”

“Darling, you’ve seen yourself how easy it is to travel between realms. You can move to the other realm and still see him all the time. Especially now that he knows you’re a witch.”

Louis chewed his bottom lip. “Okay, well… what if I stay here?”

“In the mortal realm, darling?”

“Yeah.” Louis looked up at her slowly. “I’m about to get my licence, and I’m old enough to live on my own. You’ll only be a portal away.”

“Well… think about it.”

Louis gave her a small smile. “You look sad.”

She frowned at him. “I have five children and I won’t be living with any of them.”

“Mum, this is silly. I understand that we moved down here so you could prioritise my witch training, but I’m about to - hopefully - get my licence. Your duty to me is done. You don’t have to take this job, Mum.”

Jay shook her head. “It’s good pay, Louis.”

“Is it really worth it if you’re sad?”

“I…” Jay sighed and chewed the inside of her cheek. Louis supposed it was a symptom of growing up, giving advice to your own mother like this. “I don’t know.”

“You’re a witch,” Louis said, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms. “But you’re a mother, first and foremost.”

“You really think I should move back to Doncaster?” 

“If that makes you happiest.”

Louis was a mummy’s boy, but living with his mum wasn’t the number one goal for  _ this _ mummy’s boy. Jay had made a lot of sacrifices for her children over the years, but he wasn’t prepared to watch her sacrifice true happiness for the sake of money.

“The financial security would be good for the girls, though,” Jay mused.

“Not as good as having their mother back.” 

Jay hummed in thought. By all accounts, Louis’ sisters seemed to be enjoying living with their father, but they missed their mum. Louis was going to need to find somewhere to live either way, which sucked, but he had to leave the safety of living with his mum at some point. 

Everything was changing, but Louis had to put it to one side for now. At least until after his witch’s licence exam.

-

Once December hit, Louis began to get nervous about his exam.

“I don’t understand why I don’t even know what form it will take,” he told Harry. “I don’t know if it’ll be a written exam or practical.”

“Lou, it’s magic. I presume it’ll be a practical test.”

Louis sighed. “You never know.”

“The reason none of us have told you...” Niall began, pausing as Harry stared at him. Harry still didn’t seem to be used to the whole talking cat thing. “Is because the exam takes different forms for different people.” Niall let out a laugh. “When I was your age, I had a friend whose exam was a wrestling match.”

“What?” Louis squawked, partly scared and partly disbelieving.

“It was a perfect balance between catering to his strengths and pushing him to demonstrate how he deals with things he finds challenging. Your exam will be unique.”

“What was yours?”

“Oh… I don’t wanna talk about it,” Niall said, jumping down onto the floor and making his way towards Louis’ bedroom door. “I can’t remember. So long ago.”

He promptly left the room, and Louis heard his paws padding down the stairs.

“Absolute bullshit,” Louis said to Harry with a grin. “This is annoying. I wanna know.”

“Well, Niall said they cater to strengths. What are your strengths?”

Louis shrugged. “Drama?”

“Maybe it’s to do with the strengths that you’ve shown during your tests with Jade. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? That would explain why you’ve had all those tests.”

“You’re right.” Louis nodded. “I can’t think of what they might use from those tests, though.”

“Maybe you did something exceptionally well without realising.”

-

That thought was in Louis’ mind as he headed down to the basement to head to the other realm. Harry had told him to stop overthinking it, even though Louis  _ wanted _ to overthink it because he wanted to work out what to study harder on. He never came to a conclusion, so he headed off to finally take his exam, feeling irrationally underprepared.

He arrived at a rather clinical office and stood in a queue. It felt like a doctor’s surgery, the slightly uncomfortable quiet and the unflattering lighting overhead. When Louis got to the front of the queue, he smiled at the bored looking receptionist.

“Hi, um… Louis Tomlinson. Here for my witch’s licence exam.”

“Take a seat and someone will be with you shortly,” the receptionist said in a monotone voice.

“Thanks.”

Louis slunk off to the seating area. He contemplated picking up one of the likely year-old magazines, but he heard his name called before he could decide.

“Louis Tomlinson?”

Louis looked up and saw Jade standing in a doorway, glasses perched on her nose and white lab coat wrapped around her frame. Louis cocked an eyebrow as he stood up and walked over.

“Well, this is… a transformation.”

Jade glanced back at him and led him down the corridor in silence. They walked into a room - it really did feel like a doctor’s surgery - and Jade closed the door.

“You like it?” She grinned, twirling. 

“You’re not gonna… perform surgery on me, are you?”

Jade rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of Louis’ wrist. They transported to what looked like a completely white room, but it was endless. Kind of like a void.

“Okay,” Louis said, frowning. “Um, cool?”

“I want you to create the perfect retreat for yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

Jade just shrugged. Louis had to admit, Jade giving him his exam made him feel a lot better. He wasn’t sure if he would go so far as to say they were friends, but she was someone he was at least comfortable with. If nothing else, she had always been encouraging, and so he allowed himself to relax a bit.

“Okay, so… do you want me to zap us somewhere?”

“No. Build it.”

Louis didn’t know exactly what she meant, but he thought back to other times when he hadn’t known what she meant. He had to interpret it for himself. Maybe she meant paint a picture. Maybe she meant to fill the room with relaxing things. He didn’t know, but he closed his eyes and tried to picture what a  _ retreat _ would be to him.

Without opening his eyes, Louis pointed. He knew before he opened his eyes that he had conjured the sea. He looked, and a grey, tumultuous section of sea was crashing against an invisible boundary. He tilted his head.

“Huh. Interesting.”

“Carry on,” Jade said, expression neutral but eyes dancing. “What else?”

Louis closed his eyes. That seemed to work well for him last time. He pointed a few times before opening his eyes again.

They were in some kind of beach house, french windows flung open to reveal a wooden deck that led onto the beach. Louis wasn’t quite sure where he had been channelling, but he felt completely chilled out.

“This is nice,” Jade said.

Even though Louis could feel a light sea breeze in his hair, everything looked… slightly shy of real. It was kind of like those paintings that you really had to squint at to work out that it wasn’t a photograph. The sea looked too soft, and the sun too orange. 

“Anything else?” Jade asked.

Louis looked to his left and pointed a finger at an armchair. Harry appeared in it, smiling and sweet.

“Now it’s perfect.”

Harry seemed slightly unreal too, his smile starting to become creepy. Louis looked away.

“What next?” he asked Jade. 

“You have to destroy him,” she whispered, nodding towards Harry.

“What?” Louis practically screamed.

“Jokes!” Jade snorted in amusement. “Now, you have to get us back to your house, but without molecular transference.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

Jade just shrugged.

“Fine,” Louis muttered to himself. If only he could fly them there. “I’ve got it.”

Louis pointed to the deck outside and conjured a tandem bike. He delighted in the way that Jade’s expression dropped.

“Let’s go,” he said. “Wait, we don’t have to bring… him, do we?”

“Please, no.”

Louis got on the front of the bike and Jade begrudgingly climbed onto the seat behind him. 

“Alright, we need to get in sync. Right foot on the pedal.” Louis glanced behind to see that Jade’s foot was in position. “Three, two, one, go!”

It took them a minute to match their pace, and they trundled down some random pathway that led to God-knows-where. It didn’t seem to make much sense, the concept of travelling the mortal way out of a place that Louis had literally pulled out of his finger, but Louis had learned by now to just go with things that didn’t make sense. 

The further they travelled, the more the passing scenery faded from real to realistic painting to a sketch, and soon enough they were cycling past brush strokes of blue and green and nothing else. Louis didn’t feel panicked by it. In fact, he found it pretty and kinda cool.

“So, are we just cycling into nothingness?” Louis asked, turning his head slightly but keeping his eyes on the… non existent road. “Because if  _ everything _ disappears, I think it takes our hopes of getting home with it.”

“Now, would I really give you an impossible task?”

“Yes,” Louis said with a snort. “You know, this is the most unprofessional exam I’ve ever had.”

“You’ve clearly never taken an exam in the other realm before.”

“True.” 

They really were now just driving through white nothingness, the occasional sketched blade of grass or thistle passing them by. Louis stopped pedalling, as did Jade, and Louis couldn’t work out if they continued to move or if they had never been moving.

“I need a hint, Jade.”

“Work it out, Louis. In your own way.”

“What does that even mean?” Louis whined. “Um, okay. I need to get us home, but without using molecular transference.”

Louis thought for a second, before stepping off the bike and pointing. He conjured a door, and turned to Jade.

“Come.” Louis paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Wait, when you said without using molecular transference…Can you specify? Reword it?”

“You can’t zap us into another location.”

He yanked open the door and grabbed Jade’s hand, pulling her through the doorway and with a flash, Louis opened another door and emerged into his basement.

“Was this okay?” he asked Jade hopefully. “A portal! Duh.”

“Fine,” Jade said, once again trying not to smile. She grabbed Louis’ wrist and transferred them up to his bedroom. “Next… I want you to turn everything in this room to jelly.”

“Okay.” Louis shrugged. “Weird.”

“There’s a catch.” Jade pointed at him and, slowly, his index fingers came together and became encased in a finger trap. “You can’t use your finger.”

“You know I can get out of this. I’m not seven.”

“It’s just symbolic. Don’t be a brat.”

“Fine. Well, at least this is a test I understand.” Louis closed his eyes and focused. “I can do fingerless magic. I turned myself into the elements without using my finger.”

“Anything else?”

Louis opened one eye and looked at Jade. “No.”

He sat on his bed and crossed his legs under himself. He could definitely do this. He pictured everything in his room as jelly. Wiggly, wobbly, bouncy jelly. He tried to zone in on the texture, the taste, the smell, and when the surface below him gave way, he opened his eyes.

“Did you have to pick lime?” Jade lifted her foot, which made a gross, awkward sucking sound. “I hate lime jelly.”

“You get what you’re given.” Louis stood up, removed the finger trap, and dug his hand into the bed-shaped jelly next to him. He scooped some out and threw it at Jade. “You’re welcome.”

“You remember this is your exam, right?”

Louis folded his arms and stared at Jade. He focused, really, really hard, and the room changed into red jelly.

“Nice!” Jade smiled. “Now, is this strawberry or raspberry? Cherry?”

“Find out for yourself.”

Jade scooped out some of the wall and bit into the wobbly jelly. She nodded, humming in appreciation.

“Cherry.”

“I hope that’s not gonna turn back into wall in your stomach.”

“We’ll see,” Jade said, throwing the rest of her handful of jelly on the floor. “If it does, you fail.”

“What?”

“Joking.” Jade rolled her eyes and wiped her hand on her skirt. “Ugh. Sticky.”

“What next?” Louis said, grinning. “I’m ready!”

“That’s it.” Jade pointed to the ceiling and the room turned back into everything it was supposed to be. “You’re done.”

“Okay. When do I find out if I passed?”

“Be patient.” Jade turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door behind her. 

Louis was left all alone in his room, unsure if the exam was truly over or not. He sat on the end of his bed and waited. Just as he was beginning to think he should go downstairs and see if anyone was around, the door opened and Simon was standing there with Jade.

“Stand up,” Simon said.

Louis leapt to his feet. Was he in trouble? What would the head of the Witches Council be doing here?

“Go on,” Simon prompted Jade. Jade lifted an enormous camera and snapped a picture of Louis.

“Hey!” Louis protested. “What was that for? I wasn’t ready.”

Simon snapped his fingers. “Congratulations, Louis. You are officially a licenced witch.”

Simon handed him the card he held in his hand. It was Louis’ licence. He was actually holding it. He frowned at the unflattering photo.

“That was unnecessary, you know.”

“Don’t worry,” Jade said warmly. “You get a new photo when you renew it.”

“Oh, how long until I have to renew it?”

“Just a hundred years.”

“Well, look,” Simon interjected impatiently. “You have all the power in the universe now, but you’ll receive your paperwork and manuals in two to five working minutes. Enjoy, and don’t mess everything up.”

Simon disappeared in a suffocating plume of smoke. The smoke alarm on the landing promptly started to beep, so Louis jogged out to silence it. When he came back, Jade was beaming at him.

“Well done, Louis. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks! Can you explain  _ anything _ about my exam and what it was all for?”

“Each witch’s exam is catered specifically to their own strengths, weaknesses, and potentials. I’m just the examiner, I just test you. I don’t devise the exams. They’re put together with sacred, ancient techniques that none of us could possibly understand.”

“Well, I know I definitely don’t.” Louis smiled at Jade. “Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome. Good luck with everything.”

Jade grinned before disappearing with one last flourish of pink glitter.

-

Jay threw him a little party, which sadly only had three guests: Jay, Niall, and Harry. Still, they were all Louis needed.

“So,” Niall said. “How do you feel?”

“I mean… I’m happy, but kind of the same?” Louis shrugged. “I don’t feel like some all-powerful being or anything.”

“You may have all the power in the universe, but you’re still a drama geek,” Harry pointed out.

“Oi!” Louis kicked him under the table.

“Anyway,” Jay said and raised her glass. “To Louis!”

Harry and Niall repeated the phrase, Harry and Louis clinking their glasses with Jay and then with each other. Harry clinked his glass against Niall’s bowl of milk.

After Louis’ little party, he and Harry headed up to his room and Louis conjured some grapes because he had the urge to feed them to Harry.

“Mm, so.” Harry opened his mouth, and Louis popped a grape into it.  _ “All powerful being.  _ So sexy.”

Louis threw a grape, and it hit Harry square between the eyes. “All powerful being? Or drama geek?”

“Aww,” Harry cooed with a grin. “Offended?”

“Very.”

“No you’re not.” Harry crawled closer to him. “You’re both. All powerful drama geek.”

“Mm.” Louis kissed him. “That’s better.”

The grapes sat forgotten on the bed as Louis and Harry kissed, falling into a slow rhythm and losing themselves in each other. Just as it started to get a bit warm between them, there was a knock at Louis’ door and he quickly pulled away.

“Come in,” Louis called casually as Harry grabbed a pillow and placed it on his lap.

Jay peeked her head around the door, before stepping in and closing the door behind her.

“Guess what?” she said in a loud whisper.

“What?” Louis replied.

“Niall’s appeal has been successful.”

-

Looking for a place to live was stressing Louis out. He wished he could stay in his current house, but there was absolutely no way he could afford to do that.

“I know how you feel,” Niall said, speaking quickly and eyes wide. “I’m gonna need to find somewhere to live too!”

Jay had broken the news to Niall, and Niall had fallen off the kitchen table in shock. He was to become human again. His transformation date was set for early January.

“Hey, will you get a job?” Louis asked thoughtfully. “Maybe you could live here with me. You could take my room.”

“Why not Jay’s room?”

Louis scoffed. “Because if I’m staying, I’m having that room.”

“That’s fair,” Niall agreed quickly. “Yeah! I can do that. I know I get on your nerves, Louis, but I do feel like we’ve become friends.”

“Please,” Louis said softly, scratching behind Niall’s ear. “We’re family.”

“Really?” Niall squeaked.

“Yup. So, yay! We’re staying!”

“Will we be able to afford it together, though?” Niall asked.

Louis pouted in thought, before smiling.

“Well, what if we gather another couple of people?”

-

“Oh… I dunno, Lou,” Zayn said, shaking his head. “I don’t wanna commit to another place just yet. Me and Liam were kind of thinking that we’d move in together, when we could afford it.”

“Bring him,” Louis said without really thinking. “Look, my house is kind of big, and if there were four of us, rent would be cheap and you guys could save some money.” 

“That… is sort of a good point.” Zayn sighed. “Let me talk to him. Alright?”

“Sure.” Louis grinned, looking up as Harry sat down with them in the common room. “Hi.”

“What are you two up to?” Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

“Well. I thought that, with my mum moving out and Ni-” Louis stopped abruptly and glanced at Zayn. “Uh, with my cousin coming to live with me, we could maybe do with someone else to move in. So, I asked Zayn.”

“Do you have the space?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, uh… my cousin can take my room and Zayn and Liam can take my mum’s room. I can move into the basement.”

“Zayn… and Liam?” Harry smirked. “God, imagine if you told yourself six months ago that you were happy to live with Liam.”

“I know.” 

Louis giggled and looked to Zayn, who was scowling at them both. It made him laugh even harder.

“You two are dicks.” Zayn stood up. “I have to get to the studio.”

“Bye, love!” Louis called after him as he walked away.

“Moving into the basement, huh?” Harry asked with a grin. “It looks like shit down there.”

“Well, I’m very handy with redecorating,” Louis said, wiggling his finger.

“Oh. Of course.” Harry nodded knowingly. “Well, I can’t wait to see what you do with the place.”

As Harry got a bottle of water out of his bag and took a drink, a wild, loopy thought popped into Louis’ head. He watched Harry screw the lid back onto his bottle before speaking.

“Um, Haz?”

“Hm?”

“What if… I mean… how would you feel about coming with them?”

“Coming with who where?” Harry asked.

“I’m trying to ask if you’d like to move in also.” Louis stifled a grin. “Come on. The basement is huge, it would barely feel like we lived with anyone else.”

“I see.” Harry’s face split into a wide smile. “You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“Not really.”

“Okay. I’ll see if I can get out of my contract.”

“Leave that to me.” Louis tapped the end of his nose and winked.

-

Shortly after Louis turned nineteen, his mum packed her bags and moved back up to Doncaster. It was bittersweet. The thought of no longer living with her was pretty scary, but it was a new chapter. Not only was he living in his own place and moving in with friends, he was living with a boyfriend.

Harry moved in first. Niall was living his last few days as a cat, and Harry had been moving his things in over the course of a week. Once Jay was gone, he officially began living with Louis.

“I love what you’ve done with this place,” Harry said, setting his hands on his hips and looking around the newly refurbished basement. “It’s kind of warm, though.”

“Maybe it’s the carpet. Would you prefer wood floors?” Louis pointed at the floor and changed it. “How’s that?”

“It’s nice! But could we go a tiny bit darker? Sort of mahogany colour?”

Louis pointed again and Harry nodded. 

“Ah. Perfect.”

The basement was big enough for Louis and Harry to feel a bit like they were living in a studio flat, which was nice, and meant they would be happy enough to just hang down there. Niall was sleeping down there with them on the sofa, just until he was changed back. 

“I’m not ready to have a room all to myself,” Niall whined.

“Yeah, well. When you’re human again, you’re not sleeping here,” Louis told him. 

“I’ll be okay. Once I can sleep in a bed like a person again.” Niall let out a strange shriek. “I’m so excited! Can’t wait to, like, style my hair and pick stuff up with my hands.”

“Weird goals,” Harry said.

“You couldn’t understand.”

“Hey!” Harry pointed at him. “I  _ was _ turned into a frog once.”

“But you don’t remember it.”

“Okay…” Louis said, shaking his head. “Harry, stop arguing with the cat.”

“Not for much longer!” Niall said joyfully, scurrying off towards the stairs back up to the house.

“You know, I’m kind of getting used to talking to a cat.”

Louis looked at Harry and laughed. “Aww. Well, I’d offer to get us another talking cat, but with two clueless mortals moving in, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“So, like… how old is Niall? Is he gonna be, like, close to our age, or is it gonna be like having a middle aged man in the house? Or a  _ dad?” _

Louis shook his head. “Nah, he’s only, like a hundred.”

“He’s  _ what?” _

“Well, witches don’t age as quickly as mortals. He’ll probably not look out of place with us.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and looked Louis up and down.

“So…”

“I’m really nineteen,” Louis confirmed. “But my mum’s nearly three hundred.”

“Right.” Harry frowned deeply. “So if witches age a lot slower than mortals, how come you’re nineteen and you look nineteen?”

“Well, we reach adulthood at the same rate. I’ll just probably look exactly like this for a good few decades.”

Harry looked at him sadly. “So when I’m eighty you’re gonna look, like, twenty five.”

Louis hadn’t even thought about the fact that he would be around a lot longer than Harry. That was a big downside to being in a relationship with a mortal. 

“I’ll be your toy boy,” Louis said.

“Oh shut up,” Harry said with a slight giggle.

“Don’t worry about any of that stuff right now.” Louis booped Harry’s nose with his finger. “I’m an all powerful being. There might be something that can be done.”

“Your people hate my people,” Harry deadpanned. “And if you say ‘all powerful being’ one more time…”

Louis pounced on Harry and tickled him.

-

“I’m so nervous,” Niall whispered.

“You should be excited, lad!” Louis replied. “You’re done! You’ve served your sentence.”

“That’s not true. I’ll still be on probation. One tiny slip up and I’m back behind whiskers.”

“And that’s why you’re gonna be a perfectly well behaved member of society.” 

Louis stroked Niall to comfort him. It was kind of sad to Louis that he wouldn’t have a cat anymore, and also kind of weird that he’ll soon look a man in the eye that he had spent the last however many years cuddling and stroking.

Some of this witchy stuff would never be not weird.

They arrived at the probation office and Louis and Harry waited outside while Niall disappeared into a room.

“So, this is the other realm.” Harry sniffed, looking around the dull office. “Exciting.”

“You’re in a probation office. What did you expect?”

“Dunno, just… not this.”

Louis rolled his eyes and picked up a music magazine. “Here. Read this.”

Harry flicked through the magazine, looking confused.

“Who the hell is ‘Shy Mambo’?”

“An other realm singer.”

“Oh.” Harry shook his head and dropped the magazine to his lap. “This is all too weird.”

“You’ll get used to it, I promise.”

“I’m not confident that I’ll ever get used to there being a door to another dimension in my bedroom.”

“It’s another _realm,”_ Louis corrected. “Dimension isn’t really accurate.”

“Whatever. Don’t come at me with technicalit-”

Harry fell silent as the door to the office opened. They heard Niall thanking his probation officer, and then he stepped out of the room and looked at Louis and Harry nervously.

He was a pink cheeked, blue eyed brunette, a compact man who indeed looked to be in his mid twenties. He was wearing combat trousers and a sleeveless t-shirt. Louis took a guess that, when Niall was turned into a cat in the nineties, this is what he was wearing.

“Wow,” Louis said slowly, circling Niall and looking him up and down. “You’re kind of handsome.”

“Yeah?” Niall said, touching his hair self consciously.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “But… Lou, do something about his clothes.”

“What?” Niall said again, looking down at his attire.

“You’re right.” Louis pointed at Niall and dressed him in skinny blue jeans and a white t-shirt. “Better.”

“Oh, yeah!” Harry nodded, grinning. “Now he’s  _ definitely  _ fit.”

“Oi!” Louis elbowed him.

“Can we just… go home?” Niall whined. “And I could’ve dressed myself, you know. I’d, um, prefer to wear black.”

“That’s because you’ve worn black for the past twenty five years.” Louis tilted his head. “Let’s go home.”

Niall had trouble reacquainting himself to his legs, but he followed Louis and Harry to the portal which took them home. Once they arrived in Louis and Harry’s room, Niall zapped himself up to his new bedroom. 

“Unnecessary,” Louis scoffed.

They gave him privacy for a few hours, and Louis zapped them all in a roast chicken dinner for lunch to celebrate Niall’s new freedom. Louis tried not to show his amusement as Niall struggled to remember how to use a knife and fork.

“Oh, Niall. It’s not been  _ that _ long.”

Niall glared at him. “Try eating off a bowl on the floor for a quarter of a century.”

“Now.” Louis pointed his fork at Niall. “We need to go over the ground rules for when the others move in.”

“Aw, come on. I don’t get even one day without rules?”

“No,” Louis stated. “Now. This goes without saying, but no magic in front of Liam or Zayn. No magic  _ at all _ if the boys might notice any after effects. And remember: you’re my cousin from Ireland. Whatever other backstory you want to create for yourself, fine. But be consistent. And remember that you’re supposed to be in your twenties.”

“I will! God.”

“Good. Because I don’t want to have to rely on bloody memory spells constantly.”

“Yeah,” Harry scoffed. “Don’t rely on memory spells. We all know where that gets you.”

Louis laughed at him. “Everything with us turned out wonderfully!”

“You’re right.” Harry beamed and leaned toward to kiss Louis.

“Ugh, I’m eating,” Niall complained.

Harry pulled away from Louis and glared at Niall.

“Witch, please,” Harry said, before breaking into a stupid smile.

“How long have you been waiting to say that?” Louis asked.

-

Zayn and Liam moved in a week later. Louis had redecorated their room (with magic) and they seemed very impressed. Louis hoped that everybody got on well. With five of them sharing the rent, it was an absolute steal. 

They decided to have a mini party to celebrate, Niall practically giddy at the prospect of having a few beers. 

“Here’s to the new year in our new home,” Louis said, cracking open his first can of beer. “Let’s try not to grow to hate each other.”

Liam and Niall seemed to click quite quickly, and Zayn watched on fondly.

“I think Liam likes your cousin,” he told Louis.

“Well, he’s a great guy.”

“Did you name your cat after him?” Zayn asked, frowning. “And whatever happened to that cat?”

“My mum took him back up to Donny,” Louis lied easily. “And, um… the name thing was a coincidence.”

Zayn accepted the excuse, either that or he didn’t care enough. He strolled off to join Liam and Niall, and Harry appeared by Louis’ side.

“Everything worked out nicely, didn’t it?” Harry asked, draping an arm around Louis’ shoulders.

“Aw, don’t say that! You’ve jinxed it.”

As if summoned, a glittering over by the sofa caught Louis’ eye, and he looked over just in time to see Jade materialise in the middle of the living room, right in front of everyone.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“Having a party?” Jade called over to Louis jovially.

Louis sighed and looked at Harry. “Memory spell it is.”

He pointed his finger over to Liam and Zayn, erasing their memory for the first, and likely not the last time.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this fic, please [reblog the fic post!](https://dinosaursmate.tumblr.com/post/184293141231/a-spell-and-a-spark-by-dinosaursmate-words)


End file.
